Thieving Slayer
by Ms Autumn
Summary: A cocky young girl, on the run from the law her whole life, must give everythings she's got when her gang of thieves kick her out and she must become a slayer to outwit the guards of Runescape, slowly discovering who she really is in the process.
1. Betrayal

Chapter 1 

* * *

Betrayal 

* * *

In the middle of July, everything was peaceful in Varrock. There hadn't been any crime for about a month. Everyone was happy. Business was great. It was a wonderful place to live.

But, in the southern parts of Varrock, a plan was coming together. A plan of crime. By the most clever group of thieves that Runescape has ever seen. They were planning on ruining Varrock's time of peace.

This group consisted of 3 girls and 4 guys, all very skilled in thieving. The leader, Blake, had a plan to steal from the Varrock Bank. Then, steal from the Grand Exchange.

This plan, however, was going to take a lot of patience. The group had to make sure the plan was perfect. They had to have costumes that nobody could tell that it was them while they wore them. They needed perfect placement, perfect timing, perfect everything.

Blake had dark black curly hair and a thin, muscular body. His mysterious face made a lot of the girls want him. He always had a serious look on his face, but when he was smiling he looked friendly and open. He had dark brown eyes. He was definitely the brains of the group.

Blake's girlfriend, Shadow, was the best thieve of the whole group. She usually didn't go with exactly what was planned, but in doing so got more money. She was loud, outgoing, hot headed, and sure of herself. Though when she wasn't talking, she blended in perfectly with the rest of the world. She wore a lot of different disguises, but her main outfit came down to a white beret that placed nicely over her black hair with spiked pigtails, a vyrewatcher shirt and bottom with high heels to give it that extra sexy look, white gloves so she left fingerprints on nothing, a thieving cape, and a white scarf that flowed along with her hair. She also had green eyes that blazed a warning to any challenger.

For being a world class thieve, Shadow got a lot of attention, most of it being from boys. She was incredibly sexy and athletic. In different disguises, boys drooled at Shadow's feet. Shadow knew very well of this and she lapped up the attention.

Blake was aware of the boys liking her in certain outfits, and he didn't like it. As much as he loved money, he loved control. He felt he could control Shadow, and he didn't like the boys hitting on her.

Mallory, a girl who had been in the group for 2 years, never liked Shadow. She was jealous. Sometimes she would screw up and then plan would be foiled. Then the guards would come. Mallory had dark blonde hair, green eyes, and a light tan. She always wore long sleeve shirts. And she had a big mouth.

The group of thieves were now crowded close together behind a houses wall that was close to the Varrock bank, discussing their very well thought out plan.

"So, once Shadow gets inside the bankers' area, then she steals some gold from back there and sneaks back behind, gets money from some of the stalls then she gets the key to the downstairs dungeon and gets gold from there? How will she not get caught in the back?" Mallory asked, clearly not understanding the plan.

"She has a banker uniform under her wizard clothes, she just causally walks back there like a normal employee, then she walks quietly in the back, asked some of the bankers for help, say that she's a new employee, grabs some money, find the key, takes the key. And then we're all good." Blake explained.

"Can't see how you wouldn't manage to understand that. He's said it 6 times." Ronaldo said, rolling his eyes.

Ronaldo was sarcastic, cynical, and rude. He was very muscular, but lean. His dark brown hair softly curled and his dark brown eyes always were always moving, capturing everyone's movements. He had great hearing and knew anything that an enemy would try to use in a fight. His thieving skills were almost as good as Blake's. He was also Shadow's older brother. They came to the group together and had each other's backs every step of the way. They had a rough past together but neither of them would answer when confronted about it.

"Well excuse me, I was just trying to make sure I had everything right." Mallory defended herself.

"Yeah, that's it Mallory. I bet you'll screw it up like you did the last time. I'm surprised we still got the gold." Amphetro said.

"How much do you bet?" Narmo asked.

"100 pieces of gold." Amphetro replied, grinning.

"I'll hold you to that." Narmo said.

Amphetro and Narmo were dating. Amphetro was a girl with long blonde hair, soft pink cheeks, and light green-blue eyes. She would definitely turn heads. She had curves, always wore skirts, to show off her legs, and skinny tops.

Narmo had black hair and light blue eyes, he wasn't very muscular but he was strong. His muscles were mostly in his legs. He was a runner. He never liked to stay in one place at a time.

"Wow, you guys are so immature." Mallory complained.

"Your point, missy pissy?" Marcus asked.

"We're old enough to act like adults instead of silly little kids." Mallory argued.

"Yeah, but we're thieves, it doesn't count. We're breaking the rules all the time. So why not break these rules too?" Marcus said.

"You are so stupid." Mallory said.

"And you're a prick." Marcus replied.

Marcus had brown hair, brown eyes and was muscular. He tended to annoy just about everyone. And he knew it. He enjoyed bothering people. A lot of the times in the plans he would either mess with people's heads, or mess with them while fighting, he tends to get into people's heads and piss them off.

"So when's this all going down?" Ronaldo asked, tapping his fingers on the wall.

"Tomorrow. Mid-day. We'll all meet up at the front of the castle. Except, we all have to be separated, like in our other plans." Blake explained.

"Then we all wait a little bit, then follow in, act like normal people, stand in a long line, then Blake gives Shadow the sign and bing, bang, boom, we get the gold and everything's all good, we go home. And that's it." Marcus said with a smile.

"It cannot be that easy." Mallory argued.

"If you screw up then it won't." Amphetro replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I won't screw it up. This one's way too easy to screw up."

"You just said that it can't be easy..." Shadow said confused.

"No I didn't." Mallory disagreed.

"Yeah, you kind of did." Marcus added to the argument, loving the chance to annoy Mallory.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mallory said.

"Wow." Ronaldo said quietly, clearly annoyed. He put a hand over his face in a face palm and shook his head.

"Anyways, we have to make sure that it goes smoothly. So no screwing up. This is too big to screw up on." Blake told them. "Okay, now this meeting is over. Meet up here, tomorrow, 11 a.m."

As everyone but Blake and Shadow left the wall they had met up at, Shadow started making conversation with her boyfriend.

"Well, that was interesting. But coming from Mallory, I'm not surprised." She said, then laughed.

"Yeah, she does that a lot, huh?" Blake smiled a little.

"You excited for tomorrow?" Shadow asked, holding Blake's hand.

"Yeah, but I'm always excited when we're about to steal things. Especially something this big of a job."

"I'm glad. We're definitely going to do a good job. No matter if Mallory screws up or not."

"She had better not. I'm getting tired of her screwing up, to be honest."

"Me too. We'd probably be better off without her..." Shadow said almost to herself.

"Eh, I wouldn't completely say that, I mean, she's good at what she does. But I hate it when things don't go according to plan."

"Of course you'd say that, you don't want the team to split up."

Blake shrugged. "I'd do what I'd have to do for my team. Even if it's hard. I still wouldn't like it though."

Shadow suddenly sighed and leaned back at the wall. "I wonder how long this will go on…or if we will ever get caught."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "You, worrying? That is not like you."

"I've been running and stealing my whole life. Is it so wrong to wonder when it will end?" Shadow asked him.

"As long as it doesn't end tomorrow." Blake said sternly. His gaze then softened and he crawled over to sit closer to Shadow. "Anything can happen, though."

The look on his face was of knowledge, something that, clearly, Shadow didn't know was coming. And she wouldn't see it coming until it did. These thieves were both great at stealing, and tricking people. Even people of their own team.

* * *

It was the next morning, the day of the big plan. Shadow was walking to the Varrock Bank as casually as possible like any normal person. She had a black wizard cloak on with a hood over her face. Under the cloak she wore a banker employee disguise, stolen of course. She had by mistake stolen a uniform that didn't really fit her so the skirt would turn into a mini skirt. She didn't really mind that, all the more attention from boys.

She had gone through the plan over and over in her head last night. Was she nervous? Hell no. She's done this all her life. If anything she was excited.

As she came closer to the bank, she made a note that Blake and Ronaldo were already there in noob disguises on different sides of the bank. Marcus was in a monk disguise with a dagger safely hidden under it outside the bank. When he saw her approaching he turned to Blake and nodded. Blake nodded back from across the room and turned to Ronaldo.

"Yo noob! You scammed me out of 5k! Give it back!" Blake yelled in a slightly high pitched voice.

"You're calling ME a noob? You're the noob!" Ronaldo yelled back.

At this, Blake lunged at Ronaldo and they began to fake fight. This was Shadow's cue. While everyone was distracted trying to break up the fight, Shadow quickly ripped off her wizard robes, revealing a banker employee disguise and jumped into the back where the other bankers were.

She noticed that all the female bankers had their hair in buns and she mentally cursed herself for keeping her hair in her spiked pigtails.

As the bankers began rushing to pull Blake and Ronaldo apart, Shadow casually looked around and in a swift movement stole a large bag of money that was marked '1m' and had a person's name on it. She quickly placed it on the edge of the banker stall she was at and made a signal with her hands. She continued to steal little bags and put them on the edge of the stall as the fight between Blake and her brother continued and Amphetro and Narmo used their mage skills to use telekinetic grab on the bags of money without being noticed. Everything was going according to plan.

As the bankers finally called the guards who dragged out the two guys, Shadow quickly took out one last bag of money and then stood there like a normal banker.

"Whew! Been a while since we got that much action." A female banker commented to her friend that was next to her stall.

"That's what she said…" A level 125 passing by muttered with a grin.

The female banker suddenly noticed Shadow and walked up to her. "Hi…I haven't seen you around here before."

Shadow cleared her throat. Luckily, she was a master of disguises AND voices. She quickly made her voice sound more mature and professional. "I just transferred here from the bank to the east." She improvised.

"Well, I'll need to see some ID. We can't just let random people who say their bankers come in here you know." The banker told her.

She nodded, prepared for this. She pointed to the tag on her uniform that said 'Lucy Baker'.

The banker looked her up and down. "That uniform is a little small on you, don't you think?"

"Hey, there's people who can work smaller sizes…", Shadow looked her up and down, "and people who can't."

The banker let out an indignant scoff and turned back to her stall.

Time for the next part of the plan.

Shadow turned to a male banker that was on her other side. "Hi." She began. "Do you know where I can find the key to the dungeon downstairs?"

The guy turned to look at her with a glare that quickly turned into goggle eyes as he got a good look of her and her legs. "Uh…well…" He stammered. "I-I'm sorry but new recruits aren't allowed to have the key." He smiled nervously as he began sweating.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. Perfect. It figured she was lucky enough to pick a horny level 32 to ask this. "Aw…" She pouted as she walked until she was right in front of the guy. "But I would give *anything* to get a good view of the whole dungeon." She traced her hand on his chest as he sweated more.

"A-Anything?" He asked nervously his face growing red and his body burning up.

She leaned until her mouth was right next to his ear and she whispered, "Anything…" in an almost seductive tone.

The man quickly searched his drawer and handed her the key that was inside it and held it out to her. "I really shouldn't be doing this…" He muttered and then smiled. "But you're worth it."

She smiled and then took the key. She blinked multiple times before tickling under his chin and whispering "Meet me in the empty room in the Varrock castle."

The man's eyes widened before he yelled "I'm taking the rest of the day off!" and ran outside the bank.

Shadow twirled the key around her finger. At least she had the calling of a seductress if this career didn't work out.

She quickly edged toward the door to the dungeon and unlocked the door. She looked around to make sure no one was watching before she slipped in and closed the door tightly behind her.

As she made her way downstairs, she stopped halfway to listen if anyone else was in there. When all there was squeaking from rats, Shadow crept down the rest of the way before she was standing in front of the gate.

Her eyes widened as she saw what was behind the gate. Gold, gold, and look at that, more gold!

"Jackpot…" She whispered under her breath as she carefully unlocked the gate. She reached in her banker uniform pocket and took out a large bag that still didn't look like it would be big enough to fit all the gold. At least she could swipe a couple mil.

As she swiped as much gold as she could carry into the bag, she kept looking back where she had come. She shouldn't have to worry though. By now Blake and the gang should be causing another distraction outside, leaving her to leave without being noticed.

As the bag became too heavy for her to carry, she began to head for the door. She heard a lot of commotion outside so she should be safe.

But suddenly, something caught her eye and she turned around.

In the very back, just sitting on the table, was a BLUE party hat. They were worth almost 1b!

She dropped her bag of cash and carelessly rushed toward the party hat and grabbed it. An alarm went off right as the party hat left the table and Shadow covered her ears.

"Hey! You there! Freeze!"

Shadow turned around to see four guards pointing crossbows at her. Not good…

"Drop the party hat and face the wall." One of them ordered. "Now!"

Shadow looked at the party hat and at them, then smiled. "Nah."

"Nah?" One of them growled. "I said now!"

"Ok, I'll drop something." In one swift movement, she took out an orange button, pressed it, and threw it at them. "Catch!"

One of them caught it with a confused look on his face before it blew up and a cloud of fog formed. This was Shadow's chance.

Party hat in hand, Shadow rushed past them easily through the fog and cleared the stairs in one bound. She pounded open the door and rushed to the nearest exit. But stopped in her tracks when she saw about 10 guards pointing at her with crossbows. Where was the gang?

She tried to turn back but the guards that were downstairs were blocking her there as well.

"Must be an ugly guard convention somewhere…" She commented loudly.

"Shut up! Drop the damn party hat!" They ordered.

"Geez, someone doesn't know how to treat a lady." Shadow said as she slowly put the party hat on the ground.

"Face the wall!" They ordered again.

Shadow shook her head with a sly grin.

"We'll shoot!" They warned, putting their fingers on the triggers.

"Go ahead." Shadow taunted them. "Bet you can't hit me."

At this, the guards pulled the triggers at the exact same moment Shadow back flipped into the air. She forced it enough to land on top of a guards head outside and she pushed off his head and ran into Varrock square.

"Stop her!" She heard the guards yell behind her.

"Can't catch me troll faces!" She yelled over her shoulder. This was just too fun…

* * *

"DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" Blake was screaming, kicking at the wall. Shadow had messed up his plan. SHADOW! Of all the people…and he was furious.

"Blake, calm down. We all make mistakes…some of us more than others." Marcus commented, making a sly glance toward Mallory.

"Shouldn't we be more concerned about Shadow's safety right now?" Ronaldo asked, sounding like a concerned big brother.

"It was a simple job." Blake clenched his teeth. "Get the money, we cause a distraction, and get out."

"You heard what happened, an alarm went off." Amphetro said in a monotone.

"That is not the point. She's the best thieve we have and she messed up. I mean I would expect this from Mallory." He pointed at the blonde who opened her mouth to make a scathing remark but was cut off. "But not Shadow. She has messed up our plans and nearly got us caught too many times…" He muttered.

"What are we going to do about it?" Narmo asked.

Blake paused before finally muttering. "We are going to kick her out."

"WHAT?" Ronaldo yelled in outrage. "You can't do that!"

"I can and I will. And unless you want to go with your precious little sister and spend your life outrunning the guards AGAIN, you will go along with it."

Ronaldo looked away. He was torn between loyalty to his sister and loyalty to the group. He had a good thing going here, they were surviving and the best thing was he didn't have to outrun the guards anymore. He was safe here…

"I think we are in agreement." Blake came to a conclusion.

"Yes! Yes we are." Mallory smiled. "She had this coming for a long-ass time."

"She messed up a lot, true, but in doing so she got us more money." Amphetro tried to reason with them.

"What do you think are the chances she got us ANY money at all this time?" Blake glared at her.

She turned away, not wanting to answer him.

"So, it is settled. If she gets away from the guards, she's out."

* * *

Shadow yawned as she sat on the crazy fortune teller's roof. It was fun to watch the guards scramble around below her like little ants at first, but she needed to get back to the gang. She got up and jumped onto the rood next to hers.

With any luck, the link of roofs should lead right to their meeting place.

She was upset that she had let the party hat slip out of her hands, but at least the gang would be glad that she was ok. It was still fun after all. Better luck next time she figured.

As she reached the last roof, she saw right below her was the gang. "Where were you guys?" She called down to them. They all jumped and looked wildly around. "Up here geniuses." Shadow said in amusement.

They all looked up. "Shadow! You're ok!" Ronaldo called to her in happiness before shutting up as Blake fixed him with a glare.

"We had to get out of there because YOU screwed up. Not me, you." Mallory smiled proudly.

Shadow jumped down and landed squarely on her feet. "Sorry 'missy pissy'." Shadow rolled her eyes. "I tried to get a blue party hat and got busted." She began to tear off her banker uniform, revealing her regular clothes under them. She pulled down her vyrewatcher pants that were pulled up for the skirt and put on her white beret.

"Where is this 'party hat'?" Blake asked her calmly.

"Had to drop it to get away from the guards. Honestly, can't Varrock have the decency to hire attractive guards?"

"And where's the money?" Blake continued questioning.

"I know what you're thinking. But I dropped it because a blue party hat would have been a really big steal. I still got you 2m from the stalls though." She defended herself.

"A measly 2m." Blake growled.

Shadow flinched at his tone. "I said I was sorry. We'll just have to do better in the Grand Exchange job."

"There will be no Grand Exchange job! You have the guards on alert and all over the place."

"So? We'll just try somewhere else. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is I am sick and tired of you nearly getting us caught."

"But Mallory does worse than me all the time!"

"That's not the point. You're a professional. You should know better."

"Yeah. Idiot." Mallory smirked.

"Shut up Mallory." Blake growled.

"So what are you trying to say exactly?" Shadow glared.

"We have come to an agreement. You are out of the gang."

Shadow held her glare. "So everyone agrees with this?" She looked around at everyone's faces whose all turned away.

Her gaze rested on Ronaldo and she walked up to him. "Even you, Ronaldo?" She whispered in a harsh tone.

He didn't look at her.

"So much for 'always having each other's backs' huh?" Shadow hissed through her teeth. She was referring to a pack she and her brother had made while they were on the run together from guards.

She turned away from him and turned back to Blake. You will regret this you know." She glared at him through fiery green eyes. She began walking toward the gate that led out of Varrock, surprisingly there were no guards.

"You will never survive out there by yourself!" Blake called out to her. "No one on the run from the guards alone can escape prison for long. They'll catch you in no time." He was determined to see at least a glint of fear in her eyes.

But when she turned back to look at him her eyes were defiant and she called back in a firm voice. "I'd like to see them try." before running through the exit from Varrock without looking back. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Woo! Long first chapters for the win? Welcome to my new series! If you enjoyed this, stay tuned for a lot more interesting chapters. For those of you who read my other stories, you will be familiar with my friend Jessica or as she is called in my stories Jawwie.

Please give a hand for my new co author, miss Jessica! :D

A big thank you goes out to her for pretty much writing the whole first part of the chapter (I only proofread and added some extra stuff).

So this is pretty much my and Jessica's story. And for those of you who know about my series I WAS writing about you know it's postponed for probably a really long time. I just want to focus on this story right now.

So R&R and keep reading for much more laughs and action!


	2. Shattered Memories

Chapter 2 

* * *

Shattered Memories 

* * *

The moon shone brightly above Shadow. She had been pacing back and forth outside Varrock for about an hour now, right next to the field of grain. She knew that she couldn't go rushing blindly into the outside world without a plan. Where would she go next? What would she do?

She stopped pacing as she saw a piece of paper come rolling her way by the wind. In lightning speed, she grabbed it and unfolded it. Inside was a wanted picture of…her!

She looked at it closely. "Huh." She said out loud. "They actually made me look prettier than I actually am." She then ripped it into shreds and threw it into the wind

She looked up into the sky, only now just noticing how dark it was. She decided to head into the woods past the field of grain. Somehow, she would feel comforted by the soft lapping of the river while she slept.

She passed the grain and headed into the trees. Only a few minutes passed before she came to the river. She noticed a log there and she sat on it. Not the best sleeping arrangement but she would have to make due until she came up with a plan.

Suddenly, shock realization hit her like a spear. She was alone. For the first time in her life she was alone. Her boyfriend had betrayed her. Her own brother had betrayed her! She put her head in her hands. She wanted to cry, but knew that she couldn't. Crying was for the weak. At least, that was what the gang had taught her and her brother.

She jumped as she heard a rustling nearby, but relaxed as a little brown squirrel came out into the open. It stood on its hind legs and twitched its whiskers at her before crawling onto the log next to her.

She let out a soft laugh. "At least I still have one friend left." She put out her hand to pet the squirrel but it ducked away, still looking up at her.

She frowned and looked away. "You should be grateful for the life you have. All you have to do is eat, sleep, and mate. I wish my life was that simple."

The squirrel twitched its ears.

"It started getting complicated the minute I turned into a level 3. My brother was a level 4 at the time. We vowed to train together and always have each other's backs. We were especially close when…" Shadow continued to gab away her life story as the night drew on.

It seemed about 2 hours later before she finally finished. "…and that's how I ended up here, talking to a squirrel like a crazy person. No offence-" She added as she turned to look at the squirrel, only to discover it had gone.

"Scratch that. Talking to myself like a crazy person…" Shadow muttered.

She stretched out onto the hard log. It was going to be a long, cold night. She took off her thieving cape and wrapped it around her like a blanket. She slowly closed her eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

She looked out as the ocean waves lapped quietly at the shore, not far from where she was sitting in the sand. It was a beautiful night. She had lit a fire and made a makeshift bed for herself. Her green eyes shone brightly in the moonlight as she thought about her very short life.

She was only a level 15, yet she had traveled far and seen many things. But she hadn't done it alone.

"Hey, Shad. I got us some bananas." She looked over as a male level 16 came toward her with two bananas in each hand.

She smiled. "Thanks Ronaldo. I'm starving."

He handed her the two bananas before sitting next to her in his own makeshift bed. He munched on his banana before turning to her again. "You ok?"

She sighed but didn't look at him. "Do you think we'll ever find our right place in this world? Or are we just destined to run away all our lives?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That's a lot of thinking for a level 15."

She chuckled. "Well, I'm not a normal level 15." She studied her banana.

"I have no idea if we will ever find a place where we belong." He answered her question. "We're outcasts after all."

"But what we did…we didn't really do. We were framed."

Ronaldo shrugged. "We were level 3's and 4's. Of course no one believed us." He let out a nervous chuckle. "I guess it didn't help when we started stealing things."

"But we had to! No one would hire us. We had no money." She whispered, as if trying to convince herself.

"Shadow, what did I tell you? We can't dwell in the past. We should just face the future with sword in hand and a challenge in our eyes."

She nodded. "Are you sure that no one will find us here?"

He blinked. "Guards don't visit Karamja that often. We'll be fine, to sleep here for tonight at least."

She turned to look at the ocean again. "The water…it soothes me somehow. Remember when mother used to sing to us about the ocean?"

He flinched and muttered, "We should get some sleep…"

She looked at him in surprise before nodding. "Ok…" She crawled into her makeshift bed next to his and settled down.

A few moments passed before she muttered, "…Ronaldo?"

"Hm?" He mumbled.

"Promise that no one will ever come between us? And we'll always have each other's backs?"

He turned to look at her and said without a doubt in his voice. "I promise."

No sooner had he said the words, he began to fade.

She gasped and sat upright. "Ronaldo! Wait, don't go! You promised!"

Her screams of hurt and panic vanished along with him, as everything went dark.

* * *

"Ronaldo…wait…don't go…"

Shadow opened her eyes and sat bolt upright, breathing hard. It was just a dream. No, it was a MEMORY.

She growled to herself and let herself fall back onto the log. "I hope I don't have any more annoying memory-dreams like that…" She muttered.

"I think I heard something over here!"

Shadow sat up again.

"Over here!"

GUARDS!

Shadow grabbed her cape and jumped into the nearest tree. Why had those ass holes followed her here?

Maybe it was because she camped out RIGHT OUTSIDE Varrock…

Shadow made a face palm. "Nice move Shadow…" She criticized herself before jumping up to the next branch above her.

She perched there like a bird, taking the chance to tie her cape back around her neck.

Two guards appeared below her, both armed with crossbows and just as ugly as ever.

"Are you sure you heard someone here, Joe?" One of them asked. "That girl couldn't be that stupid to camp out right outside the city.

Shadow stuck her tongue out at them.

"I don't know Larry-hey! Look at this!" The guard 'Joe' picked up a white object.

Shadow gasped and felt around on the top of her head. Her beret!

"Damn it…" She muttered.

"Wasn't that girl wearing this?" Joe asked.

Larry nodded. "You're right. She must be around here somewhere.

Larry suddenly took the beret and put it on his head. "Hey Joe, does this make my butt look big?" He joked.

Before Shadow knew what she was doing, she called down to them. "You know, women's hats don't really suit you two retards."

They both looked around.

"Doy, who said that?" Joe asked.

Shock suddenly hit her. These two really WERE retarded! Time to have some fun.

She stood on the branch and leaned against its trunk. "Up here ladies."

They looked up at her.

"Hey! It's that girl!" Joe pointed at her to his companion.

Shadow nodded. "Very good boys, you found me. So, what are you going to do with me?"

They both looked at each other as they tried to think. Suddenly, Larry snapped his fingers. "We're supposed to bring you back to the boss!"

"How are you going to do that if I'm up here?" She challenged them.

"Dur, I don't know. How we going to do that, Bruce?" Joe scratched his head and turned to something Shadow couldn't see.

Bruce?

Suddenly, 5 more guards came out of the woods and looked up at her. Not good.

The guard 'Bruce' stepped out and looked up at her. He had the biggest crossbow yet. "I have a few ideas."

Crap.

The guards pointed their crossbows at her as one and pulled the triggers. At lightning speed, Shadow swung from the branch onto the next one, jumped from that one to down where the guards were, jumped off Bruce's head, jumped to Larry's head and took her beret, and landed on the ground. Dazed for just one second, Shadow sprung forward back to the grain field.

"Stop her!" Bruce called.

"Go suck a-whoa!" Shadow grunted as she tripped over the grains fence. She tried to get up, but her leg screamed protest.

'Suck it up, Shadow!' She yelled at herself. She looked at her leg to see it was twisted.

"There!" The guards were only a few feet away now.

Shadow tried to get up, only to stumble and fall back down. "Crap…" She muttered.

"Don't come one step further!"

"Huh?" Shadow looked behind her to see two guys and two girls standing over her with swords pointing at the guards. They were all dressed in black and hoods covering their faces.

The two girls and one of the guys suddenly lunged into the air and killed the guards with one blow, leaving only Bruce and the two retards.

Bruce gulped. "Retreat!" He called before running away.

Shadow gaped at the four people in surprise. One of them, the one who didn't lunge to kill the guard, crouched down by her.

"You ok?" He asked. She could see his gentle blue eyes under his hood.

"I would if I knew whether I should thank you or kick you in the face. Who are you?" She asked defensively. Another rule the gang taught her: When you're a criminal on the run, TRUST NO ONE.

The man chuckled. "Don't you recognize me?"

She blinked.

He pulled down his hood, revealing spiky blonde hair and a friendly smile. "Now do you?"

Her eyes widened and she tried to crawl away from him. "Cloud! Why the hell would you save me?"

Cloud was the leader of a thieving gang found in Falador. Her gang was also the rivals of their gang. Cloud may look like a nice guy, but it's really a trick to get people to trust him before he stabs them in the back. Literally.

"Relax. I saved you from getting thrown in jail, didn't I?" Cloud told her, edging closer.

"Why would you do that? I'm the member of a rival gang!" She edged further away.

"What can I say? I saw you in need and wanted to help you." He edged closer.

"More like, you saw a girl with a twisted leg and thought you could rob her." She growled.

"You tripped? Shadow, I thought you were more careful then that." He taunted with a raised eyebrow.

She scoffed at him and tried to get up, only to fall back to the ground in an annoyed huff.

"You need some help?" Cloud asked.

"I'm fine. I just need to catch my breath." She fixed her piercing green gaze on him, challenging him to protest.

He chuckled. "You haven't changed have you? Ok, well when you're done 'catching your breath', Shella will be here to help you to Falador."

"Shella?" Shadow asked in confusion. Cloud suddenly whistled and out of nowhere, a unicorn trotted over to where they were crouching.

"She's real gentle on beginners." Cloud suddenly looked wide eyed and then began to BLUSH. "Uh, I mean, uh, I got to go. Remember, we're in Falador if you need us." He quickly added before heading for the rest of the gang. Shadow looked after him in confusion as one of the gang came over to him and whispered something that made him blush more.

Once they were out of sight, Shadow tried to stand up again only to fail. She sighed in frustration. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed Cloud's help. She knew that his gang had a very skilled wizard guy that was great with healing. She just needed to stay with them until her leg healed, that wasn't bad right?

"Shella." She whistled to the unicorn, whose came trotting to her side. It crouched down as Shadow propped herself onto its back, grunting with the effect. "Ok girl, bring me to the assholes hideaway." She told it. She had to keep herself from laughing as it made its way toward Falador as if used to him being called an asshole.

It began to head for Varrock, but Shadow pulled her back. "Whoa, girl! We'll go the other way through Draynor."

As it headed toward the fork in the road, Shadow glanced over the way that lead into the path where the boy always held out flyers. She noticed a level 3 with brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. She carried a dragon longsword and she looked as if she'd been crying. She blundered around as if blind. For a minute Shadow wondered if she should go help her.

'Nah, she'll be fine. For all I know, she has a destiny bigger than anyone's.'

She headed down to the bridge that would lead her to Lumbridge and then the path to Draynor. Things were finally beginning to not look so bleak for her. Maybe she had a good future after all! 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Hidden humor at the end here, can you fans of mine guess what I was talking about? XD Anyway, sorry that it's kind of messed up and weird but I've been busy studying for testing. Anyway, R&R!


	3. Trust

Chapter 3 

* * *

Trust 

* * *

Shadow looked at her reflection while she and the unicorn were walking beside the river, while trying to walk with Shella. She had been walking for a long time and was trying to find somewhere to rest while being out of sight from others. But people kept showing up.

Shadow was sad and angry about what Blake, Ronaldo, and the rest of her former group did. It was heartbreaking when she had been so devoted to them, helpful, and she trusted them too. Especially her brother. But it was always difficult for her to make choices because of Blake.

Blake had made all the decisions for her. She couldn't wear jewelry unless it was for a disguise, she couldn't choose her hair style or hair color. It had to be a style and color that a lot of girls had, so she could blend in easily. Even if she didn't blend in as well.

Shadow was always cautious of her looks, especially around boys. She knew that they always paid attention to her because of her body, and sometimes her face. It made a lot of girls hate her.

Sometimes, deep inside, Shadow felt bad about the boys giving her more attention than the boy's girlfriends. She didn't always like the attention. She defiantly enjoyed it because Blake was always too worried about getting and keeping money that he didn't pay as much attention to Shadow as she liked.

With each step she took, she was getting farther and farther from the group that had left her. And she was getting closer and closer to the group that could help her. Especially with her leg. But first, she needed to switch things up for once. She didn't have anyone to stop her.

"Shella, stop for a second. I've got to do something." Shadow commanded Shella, and Shella stopped.

Shadow limped over to the river, feeling slightly stronger, and got out a hidden knife. She always kept it hidden in case she would need it for anything. She took off her scarf and took down her hair and let her hair flow in the wind.

Then, with the knife, she cut it. Not very short, but shoulder length. Then she put her scarf around her neck.  
She looked at her two black ties she always used to put up her hair, in her hands. It suddenly hit her that Blake had given her them when she first joined the gang. She growled to herself before thrusting them into the river. She watched them sink with satisfaction. She was finally letting go of the gang.

She then limped back over to Shella, got onto her back, and they both rode off to Falador. It was time for a new beginning.

* * *

Shadow was outside the back entrance to Falador near the farm now. She hadn't been to Falador since her and her ex gang had led an attack on the rival gang. Her gang was crushed, of course. Blake had led them in blindly. She sighed in frustration as she remembered the humiliation. Blake had made her and Amphetro be rangers when Shadow knew she could fight perfectly fine. Now that she thought about it, it seemed sexist… what exactly had she seen in him?

Her mind drifted back to Cloud. Even though she was part of a rival gang, he still wanted to help her. His ice blue eyes were so full of kindness…not like when he had faced Blake. She'd seen his mean side and it wasn't pretty. All the kindness in those blue eyes just melt away revealing an angry demon that got lost in the darkest pits of hell.

She knew what he was capable of and she knew how much he hated her ex gang. So why did he want to help her now?

Shella walked into Falador confidently, but Shadow was less than confident as the guards eyed her coldly. She wondered if they remembered her or her gang. Probably not, Shadow had managed to put her white scarf around her head like an old woman so she wouldn't be noticed so easily. She wished that she had gone to the gang's hideout and got some of her disguises before she left, or at least a black cloak or a hood to cover her face better.

When she got into Falador unchallenged, she relaxed a little. At least she wasn't the number one outlaw here. She headed past the bank, toward the center of Falador. She knew where their hideout is, under the statue in the middle of Falador square. Under it were stairs that led to a tunnel. The tunnel led to a dead end that had an opening at the top that gave them a secret access to the Falador Castle. In that dead end was where they slept.

After their crushing defeat, Shadow had spied on them to learn more about them. Somehow, she hadn't been caught. But when she went back to inform Blake, he had grabbed her violently by the arm and slapped her for not following his order to stay in Varrock. She didn't tell him what she knew then.

She was abused, true, but she always figured that Blake still loved her. She always told herself that he did the things that he did because he cared about her. Him abusing her…had somehow made her stronger. It made her want to stand up for herself.

She never told her brother how Blake had abused her, he probably wouldn't have done anything anyway. Traitor.

She silently laughed to herself. Funny how things worked, she was beaten, bruised, and slapped and she always got right back up. But one trip on a fence and she was crippled.

She made Shella stop as she saw two figures in black, one of them having familiar blue eyes, in front of the statue.

She opened her mouth to speak but he made a shushing motion before she could.

'Did he just shush me?' She thought indignantly.

The black cloaked person next to him, a guy with orange hair that was spikier than Cloud's, went over to Shadow and held out his hand.

Shadow glared at him and ignored his hand, not so gracefully attempting to help herself down. Once she was able to jump down, the man gave his shoulder for her to lean on. She was about to refuse, then clearly thought better of it. She jumped down, making sure to keep her twisted leg from hitting the ground and leaned on orange spiky hair for support.

Cloud was speaking to Shella quietly before the large unicorn went away through the Falador entrance.

Cloud looked around swiftly before motioning his friend to come to the statue. Shadow realized she had to pretend she had no idea what was going on. As far as they knew, she had no idea about the secret hideout.

Cloud pushed the statue aside, revealing a staircase underneath. Cloud motioned orange spiky hair and her to go first, but stay quiet. Shadow narrowed her eyes at the painful looking stairs, doubting that was possible.

She held her breath and let orange spiky hair guide her down the stairs. Every time she felt a little jolt of pain, she bit back a groan. No way these guys were going to see her weaker then she already was. She needed to prove that she could still kick their asses if need be.

After what seemed like hours going down the stairs, Shadow limped through the tunnel leaning on her helper. She heard Cloud closing the entrance farther up the stairs.

At the end of the tunnel, Shadow's eyes had finally adjusted to the light and she could see there was ANOTHER underground room next to the dead end room.

"That's new…" She muttered under her breath.

There were four makeshift beds, a warm fire in the middle, and a little manmade door at the top leading to the castle. Two girls were sitting in the beds. There were also different trunks of disguises in the corner.

"Home sweet home, eh?" Cloud came up behind her. "By the way, the guy that's helping you is called Flame."

Shadow turned to look at him and his hair. "That fits." She raised an eyebrow.

"You bet it does sweet cheeks." Flame did a weird eyebrow trick, indicating flirting.

Shadow glared at him. "One leg may be twisted, but the other works perfectly fine." She said in a threatening tone.

Flame coughed and looked away.

Cloud let out a laugh beside her. "As I was saying…over there is Mel," He pointed to a girl with wavy blonde hair and hazel eyes, "and the girl next to her is Rose." He pointed to a girl with black hair rolled into a spiky ponytail with suspicious looking light green eyes.

"Everyone, this is Shadow. From the RIVAL gang." Cloud told his gang.

At once, Rose jumped to her feet. "Are you crazy? You're letting a Varrock gang member into our secret hideout?"

Shadow glared at her. "I'm guessing she was named for the thorns on a rose…"

Cloud looked at Rose evenly. "She's hurt. I want to help her. Do you have a problem with that?"

Rose held her glare for a few minutes before sitting down again, grumbling to herself. Shadow noticed she wore all black and seemed to have a little bit of muscle.

Mel stood up from where she was sitting. Unlike her friend, she looked much more welcoming. She wore a white low cut shirt with a white long skirt. Her hazel eyes sparked with kindness as she walked up to Shadow.

"Greetings. My full name is Melody, if you wish to call me that." She smiled.

"Are you the wizard?" Shadow couldn't help asking. It was the only obvious choice, she seemed caring and willing to help someone in need. Shadow couldn't understand why she was in a gang of thieves in the first place.

Mel shook her head. "Oh, no. Our healer is inside the other tunnel." She pointed to the one next to them. "He is very talented and will heal you in no time."

"He?" Shadow couldn't help muttering. "Great, now I'm going to get felt up by a male healer…" She muttered under her breath.

Mel suddenly let out a very high pitched and girly laugh that made Shadow jump in surprise.

"Oh." Mel noticed the jump. "Forgive me, I am half fairy. I couldn't help hear your comment. Do not worry, Irit only focuses on his magic and healing."

"Irit? Oh I get it! Like the herb right?" Shadow remembered hearing about herblore when her and her brother rested by a farming patch.

Mel nodded. "That's right. Enjoy your stay, I do hope we will become good friends."

She turned around and headed back to her place beside Rose. Once again, Shadow wondered how she had come to live here.

Shadow noticed Flame was looking at Mel dreamily and decided to have a little fun. "Mel sure is a looker isn't she?" She teased.

Flame looked at her in surprised and stuttered. "Um, yeah, sure. She-she's ok. HEY CLOUD, IS THE OLD BAG READY TO HEAL HER YET?"

Shadow noticed that Cloud wasn't beside her anymore. She came to a conclusion that he had gone to tell Irit about his new patient.

"Sure! Bring her in. And I resent the 'old bag' remark." A new voice called.

Flame helped Shadow limp into the next room.

Inside was completely different than the tunnel next to them. It was full of shelves with books and tables filled with bottles, potions, and herbs. In the middle was another makeshift bed. Cloud and Irit stood next to it.

Irit had longish straight black hair with a straight, half long black beard to match with a black mustache connecting it. He had colorful robes on and his eyes were grayish brown.

"Hello, Shadow. Cloud has told me much about you." Irit said.

Shadow cocked her head. "He has?"

Cloud coughed. "Naturally. He had to be prepared to treat you."

Irit raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that…and then some."

Cloud shot the healer a glare who smiled in amusement.

"…What?" Shadow said clueless.

Cloud shook his head. "Nothing…" He laughed nervously. "Just take care of her, will you?" Cloud said in a harsher tone to Irit.

Irit nodded. "You have my word."

Cloud headed toward the exit, stopping to tell Flame to set Shadow down in the makeshift bed. Flame had watched the scene with glowing amusement in his eyes. Shadow realized he must have been the one who had whispered something to Cloud to make him blush like a freshly grown tomato.

As Flame carefully helped Shadow sit down, she couldn't help but look back at Cloud. He walked with a confidence and a reassurance of himself that Shadow had hardly ever seen in Blake.

"You ought to be careful with that one." Irit commented when Flame left the room along with Cloud.

Shadow looked up at him with a fiery glow in her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Irit smiled. "Nothing, my dear. Cloud just has a…reputation."

"What are you, a level 10 gossiping girl?" Shadow accused.

"Of course not. I am just warning you to be wary with your heart. He has been known to break them."

"I don't like him that way!" Shadow insisted, looking away.

Irit chuckled. "So you say…so your leg is twisted?"

Shadow nodded, grateful for the change in subject.

"One moment please. Your leg will be fixed in a jiffy, though you will have to rest for a few days."

Shadow groaned. "Stuck in bed? But I need to…"

"To what?"

"…I-I don't know yet." Shadow realized that this might be the opportunity she was looking for. She had a safe place to stay as far as she knew and she could think about what she was going to do next.

"You sound busy." Irit joked.

Shadow sat in silence for a few moments while Irit flipped through one of his spell books, muttering to himself.

Desperate to start a new conversation, Shadow asked the first thing that came to mind. "Why does everyone call you 'old bag'? You don't look that old to me."

Irit smirked. "Thank you, but you're not my type."

Shadow's eyes widened. "That isn't what I meant-!"

"I know." Irit stopped her. "I am merely joking. They call me 'old bag' because I am a level 138, therefore retired."

"Then why are you here?" Shadow narrowed her eyes.

"I have chosen a different path then most other level 138's. They choose to open up shops or become skill cape guides and masters. I choose to be a healer and a wizard, to help young adventurers like you when you have done something stupid to hurt yourself."

"It wasn't stupid!" Shadow snapped indignantly.

It was stupid. Shadow was always so graceful, yet she tripped just by looking back at the guards. Not her best moment…

"So why did you choose to come here and help these guys?" Shadow asked him.

"They fascinated me, and brought back memories of when I was a young adventurer again. I met them when I was wandering around looking for a place to set up. I saw Cloud and Flame running away from guards and naturally I helped. Now I appear to be a criminal around these parts too. I am one of them it seems."

Shadow listened intently. She never really thought how exciting other thieves past's must be. She began to wonder about the others pasts in this gang. She decided that she would find out more about them if she could while she stayed here.

"There now. I believe that I have got the right spell." Irit turned to Shadow again with the spell book in his hand. "Now, I know that you want to be a big, brave thieve, but you must not hold back a scream or a yell when you feel pain. And yes, there WILL be pain."

Shadow gulped. Great, two things she hated. Pain and a show of weakness.

He began to chant and he put his hands together, forming a purple pinkish glow between them. "Put out your leg" he commanded. "And brace yourself."

Shadow shut her eyes, put out her leg, and looked away.

Without hesitating, Irit thrust the glowing spark into Shadow's hurt leg.

"OWWWWWW!" 

* * *

Cloud sat on top of the tallest point of Falador. The tower that was located at the general store. He looked out and watched the guards patrolling, some little level 20's running out of the hairdresser with freshly cut hair, and scammers in the bank.

Everything seemed so peaceful, so normal. But today something happened to Cloud that was anything but normal. Cloud got an opportunity.

"She's going to be a great help…" Cloud muttered out loud.

"Who is and for what?"

Cloud jumped and turned around to see Rose behind him.

"The new girl from the rival gang, Shadow."

Rose hissed and flinched like she was just stung by a bee. "What do you want with that girl anyway?"

"She's going to help us." Cloud said bluntly.

"More like help you get some…" Rose sat down beside him.

"Aww, is someone jealous?" Cloud taunted.

Rose gave him a death glare.

"I'm kidding. You're the only one for me." He pulled her closer.

"Don't touch me until you tell me why you brought her here." Rose pulled away.

"We are going to get some information out of her. We keep her here for a couple days, act all buddy buddy, then wham! We get some information about her gang out of her and we launch an attack on them."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "And that's all you want?"

"Of course that's all I want." Cloud insisted, though a certain part of him was deigning.

"Fine. You can touch me now."

Cloud chuckled playfully and pulled her closer, edging in to kiss her but then stopped. "For this to work, you have to be nice to her. Do you think you can do that?"

Rose rolled her eyes in annoyance that they stopped. "Yes-yes I'll do my best to not rip her head off."

Cloud nodded. "That's all I'm asking for." He didn't hesitate this time, kissing her which quickly turned into a make out session." He came up for air and muttered, "Do you think anyone can see us from up here?"

"No. Why?" Rose answered between breaths.

"No reason." Cloud said before pulling himself on top of her.

* * *

"See? That wasn't so bad was it?"

Shadow rubbed her leg and breathed hard in pain.

"Now you get a purple candy for good behavior." Irit joked.

Shadow glared at him. "You enjoyed that didn't you?"

"Who? Me? Enjoy the sight of young, stuck up adventurers get put in their places by an 'old bag'? Noo." Irit smiled.

Shadow rolled her eyes. "Point taken." As much as she hated to admit it, she liked this old wizard. He was funny and not afraid to stand up to people that could probably kick his ass if they wanted to.

"You should get some sleep now. When you wake up you can try walking around, but only around this area." Irit warned.

Shadow sighed and settled down into the makeshift bed, making herself comfortable. She knew that she probably shouldn't trust this guy so easily, but for some reason she did. She felt like this gang had adopted her without question and without much suspicion, except for Rose.

She closed her eyes and let her mind drift into dream world.

* * *

The level 80 breathed hard as she let a level 81 lean on her heavily.

The level 81 groaned in pain and fought back panic as more blood gushed out from his right leg.

The level 80 mentally punched herself, she should have warned him more quicker about the guards then she did. They barely escaped and now the level 81 was losing a lot of blood.

They finally came to an entrance to a city. The level 80 remembered on the sign that this city was called 'Varrock'. But would they be welcome here? They're known as criminals all over Runescape.

They passed through the gate and immediately, the level 81 collapsed on the ground.

"No! Ronaldo!" The level 80 shook him hard. "Don't give up now! We're here! We can get you some help."

When Ronaldo didn't respond, she hung her head in defeat and whispered through a sob, "Please…"

"Need some help?"

The level 80 shot up and looked to see a man over her, two girls and two guys behind him.

"Yes! Please! My brother is losing a lot of blood. He's going to die!" The level 80 felt tears streaming down her face.

"Calm down." The one that seemed to be the leader calmed her and snapped his fingers to the two guys. "Narmo, Marcus. Get this guy to the hideout."

The two guys lifted Ronaldo between them.

"Wait!" One of the girls, a blonde, halted them.

The two guys both dropped Ronaldo to the level 80's horror.

"How do we know these guys aren't from the Falador gang, trying to trick us?" The blonde said in a snarky attitude.

"Falador ga-MY BROTHER IS DYING!" The level 80 screamed in frustration, beginning to cry harder.

The leader shook his head. "Mallory, do these two look like their faking it? And I gave you two an order." He turned to Narmo and Marcus. "Take him back to the hideout." He commanded firmly.

Mallory rolled her eyes as the two guys left with Ronaldo between them.

"You two go with them." The leader commanded the girls, who took off.

The level 80 got up to go with them but the leader blocked her path. "I need to see my brother!" She growled.

"What's your name?" The leader asked calmly.

"…Shadow." She answered, wondering why he chose this time to ask her that question.

"I'm Blake. You got spunk Shadow. And I think I've seen you before, wanted posters right?"

Shadow nodded shyly.

Blake smiled. "Welcome to the thieving gang of Varrock, Shadow. If you want to be with us, lesson number one: Never cry. It's a show of weakness and weakness is a big no no. So wipe away those tears."

Shadow did as she was told.

"Come on. Don't worry, you and your brother are safe now."

Shadow looked into Blake's brown eyes and suddenly felt comforted. Maybe this was where she was supposed to be.

Blake motioned her to follow him and headed toward the direction that the rest of the gang had taken. Shadow began to follow before halting as she heard silent sobbing. She turned around to see a blonde boy with a quest cape comforting a girl with gray skin, brown eyes, and a woodcutting cape and a blue outfit.

Looks like she wasn't the only one that lost someone…or in her case almost did.

"Shadow! You coming?"

Shadow looked toward Blake and ran toward him. "Yes! Coming." 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

I feel the need to apologize for the…almost sex scene. I didn't intend to put it in but I was on fire with my writing and my hands have a mind of their own sadly.

Special thanks to Jessica for writing the introduction to this chapter! :)

R&R!

P.S. More hidden humor :)


	4. Falling

Chapter 4 

* * *

Falling 

* * *

Shadow woke up with a start. That was the second time that she had a memory-dream. What was with her? She had a dream about when she was a level 15 and now a level 80? What was next, level 3?

As she thought about in, lying in the makeshift bed, she realized that she didn't remember all that happened when she was a level 3. She wanted to forget, she didn't want to remember. But now that she was trying to think about it she realized that she couldn't think of it even if she wanted to. Why not? It was the biggest thing that ever happened to her. It was the reason why she was here now, on the run from the damn guards.

Shadow took a deep breath to calm herself before sitting up right with eyes half closed.

"Morning."

Shadow jumped and her eyes flew open. "Cloud! What the hell are you doing here sitting RIGHT beside my bed?"

Cloud shrugged as if he did nothing wrong. "I was waiting for you to wake up so we could talk about what you're going to do now. By the way, did you know you scream in your sleep?"

She glared at him. "You're such a freak…" She muttered.

"But an attractive freak right?" He gave her a doofy grin.

"No. A freaky freak…what exactly did you hear?"

"Just a bunch of grunts and faint cries like you were having angry s-"

"Ok! I get it." Shadow interrupted, sitting up properly.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Cloud sat back and crossed his legs like a little kid.

"Walking around, staying hidden, and stretching my leg until it gets better. What did you expect exactly?"

Cloud made a face. "Did you do something to your hair?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow at his short attention span. "I took out the ties and cut it…why?"

"It looks like a mountain goat ate half of it."

Shadow clenched her fists. "I used a knife! What the hell did you expect?"

Cloud shrugged. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to go and get it fixed right, but if you're going to use that tone…" He flashed a sly glance over at her.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. I think a change would be good for me." Shadow tested her leg before slowly standing up.

She began to head for the exit before Cloud put a hand in front of her. "Wait. Say 'please'."

Shadow shot him an annoyed glance. "Ok. Please kiss my ass." She then pushed him roughly aside and headed for the next room.

Just because he was letting her stay there didn't mean that they had to be best friends. After all, he was still her former gang's enemy.

She passed the fire that was now burned out, and noticed that Mel and Rose weren't there but Flame was sleeping in his bed like a lazy fat cat.

Cloud came up beside her. "By the time we get back, Rose and Mel should be back with breakfast."

"Breakfast? You can buy that here?"

Cloud made a snort sound. "You sound like you're new to this whole 'thieve gang' thing. We have a whole castle above us filled with the best cooking you could ask for, dumb butt."

He began to walk toward the stairs, leaving a confused Shadow.

'Did he just call me a dumb butt instead of a dumb ass? Some leader he is…' She remembered Blake calling her way worse things than that without even batting an eye.

She followed him, gingerly trying to keep her leg from feeling too much pressure.

Cloud was waiting at the bottom of the stairs and he looked at her with concern in his eyes. "You want to lean on me-"

"No!" Shadow snapped at him. "I'm fine." She leaned heavily on the walls on the stairs and headed up, biting back groans of pain.

When she made it to the top, she silently gasped in relief. She heard a snicker and whipped around at Cloud who immediately shut up and looked away.

"Hey, don't blame me. I asked you if you wanted help." He defended himself without looking at her.

Shadow rolled her eyes and continued to head for the hairdressers shop.

"Hey! You're a level 99!"

"That is soooooo kewl."

Shadow turned around to see a level 9 and a level 10 staring up at her in wonder.

"Um, thanks?" She cocked her head. This was the first time someone had commented on her level. She knew that level 99 was the most noticed level because level 100 was a huge deal, but because she had to spend her life hiding no one ever noticed it.

"Hey! What about me? I'm a level 105." Cloud bragged and shot a pose. "You have my permission to worship me."

"Yeah…that's great mister. So did it take you long to get that level?" The low levels turned their attention back to Shadow, who had to keep from laughing as Cloud dropped his pose and shot a frustrated look at them.

"Um, I…don't think so." Did it? Weird, must be a brain dead moment.

Shadow waved them goodbye and stepped into the shop.

Cloud stomped up beside her. "What does a guy have to do to get a little appreciation around here?" He mumbled.

"Not to be a thief?" Shadow joked.

"Ah! Welcome to my shop my lovelies. How may I help you?"

Shadow turned to see a male in a pink shirt with brown hair wrapped in a ponytail.

Cloud coughed violently. "Gay!" He said between coughs.

Shadow shot him daggers before turning back to the hairdresser. "Yeah. Can you make my hair look less…disgusting? I don't want it cut any shorter I just want a different color. Something that's unlike anyone else's please."

The hairdresser nodded. "Sure, honey. I think I know just the thing that would really bring the color out in your eyes." He turned away to get his supplies.

"Wow…he IS gay…" She muttered under her breath before sitting on one of the chairs.

"You next, then?" The hairdresser asked Cloud.

Cloud shook his head viciously. "Mess up this 'do? No thanks. I'm only here to hold my friends hand if she gets scared." He teased.

She turned around to look at him. "One: I'm not your friend. Two: This isn't the healer's lab. Three: Shut your mouth before I put hot peppers in it while you sleep."

Cloud raised an eyebrow but didn't respond as Shadow turned back to the mirror.

The hairdresser came up behind her and took out his dye bottles. "Trust me, honey. You're going to look gor-ge-ous!"

* * *

"Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Not yet darling. Just one more little touch…"

"Now?"

"Ok sweetie, go ahead."

Cloud opened his eyes. "Wow! You're right…my hair DOES look spikier."

Shadow watched him with amusement in her eyes. "You weren't this excited when you saw my new hair."

Shadow's hair was now a pretty light brown caramel color with bright crimson red streaks in some places.

"That's because your hair is crap but mine makes me look SEXY!" Cloud admired himself in the mirror more.

"When you're done making mental love to yourself I'll be back at the…house." She quickly said, flashing a glance at the hairdresser. "Thanks for the hair." She quickly said before heading out of there.

She limped slightly, but she could tell that her leg was getting better. She'd be out of there in no time.

She went over to the statue, glanced around, and pushed it aside. It wasn't as heavy as she thought. She crawled into the underground stairs and shut the statue tight above her and headed through the tunnels.

When she went into the little cave the first thing she noticed was Flame stuffing his face in fruit like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh hey, Shad!" Flame greeted her with his mouth full, spitting bits of fruit in her direction. "Want 'ome?"

Shadow looked at the chewed up or spoiled food in disgust. "No, I'm not hungry…anymore." She added under her breath. "Where's Mel and Rose?" She wanted to ask them some questions before she left.

"Mel's in the park." Flame spit out more food.

Shadow looked back at the stairs and sighed. "Peachy…" She muttered.

* * *

"Hi, Mel." Shadow greeted Mel as she leaned against the bridge, looking into the water.

Mel looked up at her in friendliness. "Greetings my new friend. Did you want something?"

Shadow leaned against the bridge next to her. "Just to talk. I'm curious to be honest. You said you were half fairy?"

Mel nodded. "It is a long story though and I do not know if you wish to hear it."

Shadow shrugged. "If I'm going to stay here for the time being I guess it wouldn't hurt to know a couple things about the people I'm staying with. How does someone become a half fairy?"

"Well," Mel began, "it happens when a male human and a female fairy love each other very much-"

"Ok, skip that part please!" Shadow stopped her.

Mel blinked. "In Zanaris, where I come from, it is forbidden for a fairy and a human to fall in love. It upsets the balance of Runescape. So my father is now in Zanaris in jail and my mother…"

"…is dead?" Shadow dared to ask.

Mel nodded sadly. "They could not do the same to my father because he is not a fairy. I was left to live because it was not my fault but I was still vanished from Zanaris. I was too different from the other fairies."

"Different being bigger?"

"Correct."

"So how did you end up coming here?"

"Truth be told, Flame found me. He was so sweet and so caring…he brought me back to Cloud and Rose who were only just starting to form a thieving gang." Mel had a dreamy look in her eyes.

"You like Flame don't you?" Shadow realized.

Mel started. "He is…well…I do. But I do not believe that things will 'work out' between us."

Shadow wanted to tell her that she thought that Flame liked her too, but she kept her mouth shut. "Why not? Isn't dating each other aloud in this gang?"

"Oh no. In fact, Cloud and-"

"Hey, Shadow! There you are." Cloud came trotting toward them with his even spikier hair. "I thought you got lost when I didn't see you in the cave."

Shadow shrugged. "I thought talking to people would be a lot more interesting than sitting around."

"Well, Irit says you have to go back to rest your leg."

Shadow rolled her eyes. "Yes mother…" She muttered before following him.

"It was very nice to talk to you." Mel called out to her.

"You too." Shadow replied without turning around. 

* * *

Shadow sighed for the thousandth time as she sat in the makeshift bed. It had been only 20 minutes but it felt like 20 hours.

"Oh for Saradomin's sake! I am tired of your sighing. Just go and talk to someone already and leave me in peace." Irit snapped.

Shadow smiled and limped to the next room to see Rose in her own makeshift bed reading a book. No one else was in there.

Shadow limped over to her. "Hi…" She said hesitantly.

"Hello." Rose growled without looking up from her book.

"I was in the room bored and thinking that-"

"You wanted me to entertain you with stories of my past and how I got here?" Rose said still without looking up. "I met Cloud in a bar, we had a one night stand, he asked me to join his tiny gang of him and Flame. Whoop-ti-freaking-do."

Shadow suddenly looked interested. "You had a one night stand with him?"

"We were both drunk and he said that I was really good and he wanted me in the gang. Now, go away."

Shadow looked confused. "So you had a one night stand and then you just forgot about each other?"

Rose looked up from her book with fury in her eyes. "That's none of your business." She snapped. "And why are you so interested about it anyway?"

"No reason. I'm just trying to make conversation." Shadow defended herself.

"Sure you are. Just because your relationship with your 'perfect' Blake is all well and good doesn't give you any freaking right to judge other relationships." Rose countered.

Shadow snapped. "Perfect? You think we were perfect? Let me show you how 'perfect' we were." She lifted her sleeve to reveal a black and blue mark the size of a half grown kitten.

Rose stared at it for a few moments before looking back at Shadow, some of her fury gone from her eyes. "He hurt you?" She said in a harsh tone that was softened just a little bit.

"Gee, you're smart." Shadow said sarcastically before sitting down beside her turned away from her.

"My father abused me…" All the hatred was clear out of her voice now.

Shadow turned to look at her. "Is that why you're such an ass hole?" She snarled, expecting a slap across the face.

But Rose only looked at the ground and put down her book. "He's the reason why I'm a thief. He drove me to this. He trained me hard starting at level 2 and whenever I did bad or messed up he would punch me or kick me. Once, he cut me across the cheek with a knife."

Shadow looked at her cheek, only now just noticing a very faint scar. "I'm sorry…" She muttered.

Rose looked up again and glared at her. "I'm not asking for your pity. And if you tell anyone what I just told you I will murder you."

Shadow narrowed her eyes. "You mean you didn't tell anyone else about this? What makes me so special?"

"Oh it's your eyes." Rose said sarcastically. "You're the closest one to really understand what I went through. But let me ask you something, why the hell are you still with that jerk if he hits you?"

Shadow wanted to tell her that it was none of her business like she did with her, but somehow she thought that she could tell her things that she couldn't tell anyone else. "I wanted to believe that he was only doing those things to help me get stronger…and that he would stop once he believed I was as strong as him. But I was wrong all along I guess."

"Meaning?"

"He kicked me out of the gang." Shadow muttered, not knowing what she was saying. "All along all he ever cared about was money and nothing else. He even made my own brother turn against me."

"…You're not in the gang anymore?" Rose kept her voice level.

"No. I thought you knew that judging by how I was wandering outside of Varrock and came here for help."

"…I got to go." Rose suddenly said, standing up and moving swiftly toward the stairs.

Shadow stared after her in confusion. Was it something she said? 

* * *

"What?" Cloud screamed in outrage.

He was back at the highest point in Varrock and just heard the news from Rose.

"She tricked us." Rose growled. "She used us."

"Well, we didn't exactly ask if she was still in the gang…" Cloud suddenly found himself defending her.

"…Are you siding with her now?" Rose turned on him.

"I'm thinking logically." Cloud turned away from her. "She may not be in the gang anymore, but we could still squeeze some information out of her."

"And what then? She isn't allowed in Varrock anymore knowing Blake. And we know nothing about the grounds of Varrock."

"We'll figure something out." Cloud growled. "In the meantime, tell no one else what you just heard. We must pretend that Shadow is still a friend among us."

"Is that it? That's your 'master plan'?"

"Of course not. Tomorrow morning I'm going to have a little talk with Shadow about her old buddies."

"If you do that it will have to be away from the hideout. Flame has ears too big for his own good."

Cloud nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking." 

* * *

Shadow walked along the Karamja beach where her and her brother had made camp once. It was just as peaceful as she remembered. But why was she here?

"Shad, Shad, Shad. What am I going to do with you?" She jumped at a familiar voice and turned around.

"Ronaldo! What are you doing here?" Shadow backed away in fury.

"You sly little weasel, you just broke up with one guy and now you're trying to get into another one's pants? And another leader too? You aim high."

Judging by the hatred in his voice, Shadow knew this wasn't real. She was only seeing him as she wanted to see him right now. A jack ass that only cared about himself.

"You mean Cloud? Please, I don't like him."Still, Shadow couldn't help arguing with him.

Dream-Ronaldo scoffed. "Please, you've been hot for him since he first offered to help you. You're telling me if you had a chance you wouldn't let him bang you?"

Shadow clenched her fist, realizing that the only person she was arguing with was her mind. "Just shut up. You don't know anything about me!"

The Dream-Ronaldo walked up to her until he was right in front of her. "I know everything about you." His voice suddenly changed to a female voice and he began fading into another shape until he looked just like her. "Because I AM you." The dream her said in her voice.

Shadow shut her eyes tight in frustration. "Shut up!" She screamed, attempting to slap the being across the face, only for her hand to go right through the other her.

* * *

She let out a gasp as she opened her eyes. She could still feel her fury pouring over her in waves.

She sat up right and tested her leg. The pain was almost completely gone! She could leave today if she wanted to. But somehow she didn't. Maybe this was where she was meant to be.

Just then, Cloud walked in. Shadow was surprised to see he looked slightly awkward as he dragged his feet on the ground and didn't look directly at her.

"Um, you alright?" She asked awkwardly.

Still not looking right at her, Cloud nodded. "Where's Irit?" He asked her.

"I…don't know. I just woke up." She watched as he tapped his foot impatiently.

"Well, how does your leg feel?"

"A lot better. I feel like I could run a marathon." Shadow smiled.

"So you wouldn't mind going for a walk…with me?"

Shadow felt her heart jump. He wanted her to go on a walk with him? What for? "Um…sure I guess. Did I do something wrong?"

Cloud shook his head. "I-I wanted to ask you something…in private."

Shadow felt herself jumping to obvious conclusions. For a minute she let her mind get ahead of her but quickly controlled herself. She was only proving that the dream-her was right, right now.

"O-ok." Shadow stood up, not even limping now as she walked toward the stairs with Cloud.

When they were above the ground, Shadow was surprised to see Cloud heading for the general store.

"The general store? That's not exactly private." She said to him.

"I know." Cloud said as he kept walking.

Shadow shook her head but kept following him until they were inside. He then headed toward a ladder and climbed up it. Shadow followed him, keeping up well even with her leg.

When they reached the top, Shadow looked down in awe. "You can see everything up here!"

Cloud nodded. "I know."

Shadow turned back to him. "What did you bring me up here for?"

"Rose told me that you left your gang." Cloud didn't waste any time. "What happened?"

Shadow shuffled her feet, not comfortable talking about it. "I was…kicked out." She muttered.

He looked at her in surprise. "Their loss. You're one of the best thief's I know."

Shadow sighed. "I messed up and I was kicked out, ok?"

"Let me guess…it was Blake's idea."

Shadow nodded reluctantly.

"That jack ass never knew a good thing when he had it." Cloud growled.

Shadow shrugged. "I guess he always liked money more than me."

"Well then he's an idiot." Shadow looked at him in surprise as he went on. "To me, you would be a prize. He's lucky that he had you for as long as he did."

Shadow saw jealously flare up in his eyes. "You're…jealous?" She couldn't help ask.

His eyes widened and he looked away. "Well...ok fine. I am. I always have been." He turned back to look at her intently. "Why do you think I hated Blake so much? He had everything. And every night, when I was lying in my own bed, I thought of you lying in his bed. It killed me."

Shadow edged a little bit away. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Cloud suddenly lunged toward her and caught her in a kiss. Shadow was so shocked that she let him continue kissing her for a few moments. She felt his tongue explore around her mouth and she let herself fall into his spell.

He began to move on top of her. Just as Shadow began to come to her senses, she heard a loud screech. "Cloud!"

Cloud stopped immediately and turned to see a very pissed off Rose standing in front of them.

"Rose! I-I was-" Cloud stuttered.

"I know what you were doing." Rose snarled. "You were doing the exact same thing with me a couple nights ago."

Shadow looked at him in shock and fury before scrambling up to stand beside Rose. "What? You two are still together?"

Cloud stood up too. "I wouldn't say 'together'." He muttered. "We just have fun every once in a while."

"That isn't what you told me." Rose took a threatening step toward him. "You said you felt nothing for her."

"I-I don't! She's just a filthy slut."

Before Rose could make a move toward him, Shadow lunched for him and grabbed him by the shirt. "Don't you EVER call me that." She snarled into his face. "You used me." Shadow clutched his shirt tighter, imagining he was Blake.

Before she knew what she was doing, she let go of him forcefully. He tottered on the edge of the roof before falling to his death.

"Cloud!" To Shadow's surprise, Rose lunched at the edge to try to grab him but to no avail, she then confronted Shadow "What the hell! You killed him!" Rose screamed.

Shadow backed away. "He cheated on you!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's done it before, but he never did it with one that would fight back."

Shadow couldn't believe what she was hearing. He's done this before and Rose was still with him?

"And Blake called ME a slut!" Shadow accused Rose out loud and glared at her.

Rose looked at her in pure fury before lunging for her. Shadow was caught off guard and was forced to be pinned by Rose. Rose clutched her neck, attempting to strangle her while Shadow had her head dangling over the roof. Shadow clutched Rose's hands, trying to get her off, but she was losing air fast.

Shadow quickly used her legs to kick Rose in the stomach and push her off. While Rose was down, Shadow grabbed her hair and wrenched her up. With her hair in hand, Shadow tried to thrust her off the roof, but Rose grabbed her arm and pulled it back hard.

Shadow yelled in pain and tried to throw her off but they were getting dangerously close to the edge. Suddenly Shadow remembered something and she took out her knife, only to be kicked in the hand by Rose. The knife went flying and flew off the roof.

Shadow knew that she had to get out of there. There was no way that she would be the winner. She was still weak from healing. She didn't have much choice with Rose blocking the ladder.

Shadow pushed Rose aside and jumped off the roof, making sure to make her legs go at just the right angles.

She landed on her feet with a thud and looked up to see a shocked Rose. Shadow turned to look beside her to see Cloud…and he was BREATHING.

Shadow took one last glance at Rose before running for the entrance to Falador. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to get out of there…and FAST. 

* * *

"Ouch! Careful." Cloud growled as Rose and Flame slowly set him down into Shadow's old makeshift bed. Somehow, he had survived the fall. But he felt that he had a few broken bones. He was surprised that it wasn't worse.

Cloud clenched his hands in fury for a couple different reasons. One reason for letting himself almost bang Shadow instead of getting information out of her, another for letting himself fall for her in the first place, another for letting himself get caught, and the last and most important of all: he was betrayed. And he wanted revenge.

"Mel!" Cloud snapped an order to the half fairy. "Bring me a papyrus and coal."

Mel nodded timidly. "Ok." Then she took off.

Flame looked at him in confusion. "Why do you need that stuff?"

"The guards are looking for Shadow right? And their all looking for her in Varrock right? Well, they're about to find a very helpful letter from an unknown source telling them to expand their search." Cloud grinned evilly. "No one messes with me and thinks that they could just run away. No body." 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Sorry for a lot of drama! I try to think of it as more adventure XD. For those of you who read the summary and were thinking that Rose was Shadow's dark friend…here's a big surprise for ya :P. R&R and keep watching out for the next chapter!


	5. The Demon

Chapter 5 

* * *

The Demon 

* * *

Shadow ran for her life. She had no idea where she was going she just knew she had to get out of there. Rose was out for her blood and if Cloud was still alive, he was too.

She knew that she was heading for Taverly. She remembered the place when she and her brother crossed over White Wolf Mountain. The memory made her heart feel like it was going to burst. He had thrown himself in front of her when the giant white wolf attacked. She had trusted him with her life…she had never doubted him. The gang was right about one thing: when a thief, trust no one with your life. Not even blood.

She stopped running once she was well inside Taverly. She ran behind a building and collapsed against the wall. She clutched her chest, trying to calm her heart. She breathed hard from the long run, her breaths coming in fast gasps. She banged her head against the wall of the building, flinching slightly at the tiny bit of pain left in her leg. She wondered what the others thought of her. They were so willing to trust her, so willing to let her into their gang.

She couldn't help feeling like she betrayed them. She had nearly killed their leader and got into a fight with the leaders girlfriend.

'If you can call her that.' Shadow thought viciously. Shadow knew that if Rose hadn't kicked her knife off the roof, Shadow would've killed her…and somehow that scared her.

That was yet another rule of the gang: Don't hesitate to kill when your life is on the line.

Shadow rubbed her neck and her arm. She breathed in sweet air. For a minute she thought she would never breathe it again.

As Shadow sat there, she began to realize something she had tried to hide from her own feelings. She even had a fight with her own mind about it. The dream told her exactly what she was thinking, she would have let Cloud do her if he wanted to, and she almost had.

Yet still Shadow shook her head. After all, she was about to push him off before Rose stepped in…right?

'Of course!' She argued with herself. 'I wouldn't have really let him strip me down and…' She let her mind wander back to his eyes…and that KISS!

That kiss…that was another thing that scared her. That kiss…she felt sparks in that kiss that she never felt when she kissed Blake.

Shadow shook her head more viciously. Nothing would have happened and nothing could have happened. He was the enemy all along, living up to his expectations of getting close to you and then stabbing you in the back.

Taking her mind off Cloud, Shadow focused on the real problem at hand. What was she going to do now? She could go over the mountain and spend the rest of her life fishing at Catherby. But she knew if she did that she would never be happy. Then again, what was happiness for her? The life of a thief was hard, especially hard when it started when you were only a level 3.

Shadow clutched her head, trying to remember WHY she became a thief at the young level. Why had she forgotten? HOW had she forgotten? Shadow tried to trace back her other memories only to find bits and pieces of them were gone too.

Shadow growled, "What the hell is happening to me?"

She stared at the ground. She was never really the one to pray, but right now she felt she had to. She silently whispered a prayer, begging for an answer that she needed NOW: "What am I going to do now?"

When she felt a rolled up piece of paper brush up against her leg, she opened her eyes. She took the paper and slowly unfolded it, expecting another wanted picture of her. Instead, there was some information.

She looked at the top of the paper which was titled in big bold words "Become a Slayer!"

'A slayer?' Shadow wondered. She knew that she had heard of them before, but she never really knew that much about them. She looked over the paper. They listed different slayer masters in different locations.

One slayer master and location in particular caught her eye. It read "Mazchna in Canifis, specific slayer master for special slayers."

Shadow jumped to her feet.

"Canifis! Thank you God!" She beamed out loud. Canifis was perfect. It was a long way away from anyone who would recognize her and she could start a new life there without any interruptions. Her prayers had been answered!

But a slayer? That part bothered her. She had no clue about slaying and had no experience at it. Would they accept her?

Shadow shrugged. She had no other options. Besides, she didn't have to be a real slayer did she? She could just put on a show to get the guards off her trail. It was settled then. She would head for Canifis right away. The only problem was getting there. It had to be through Varrock.

Well that was no problem really. All she had to do was stay out of sight. She was, after all, the greatest thief in Runescape right?

She looked around behind the building before she set off back for the gate. She had to go through the long pathway until she got to Barbarian Village, then she would just slip into Varrock and slip out on the other side. No biggie.

She exited Taverly, making sure to stay in the shadows of the wall, and headed past the guitar player. She sighed in relief when she got to the stairs unnoticed and climbed them, only to halt at the top.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Shadow stared wide eyed at 5 angry guards in front of her, one of them being very familiar.

"Brucey!" She let out a nervous smile as the big guard pointed a crossbow at her. "It's been so long! How you been? How's the wife and kids?" She laughed nervously as she edged away from the stairs and along the way to Barbarian Village.

"Boy, we had some crazy times right? Bruce, old boy?" She edged backwards along the trail, Bruce and the other guards pointing crossbows at her and scowling. "So how did you find me?"

"A little birdie told us." Bruce let out a sly smile.

"Cloud-oh!" Shadow's whisper was cut off as she backed into something. She felt around to feel chained armor and a crossbow. She gulped loudly. "Now, wait! How do you know it's me your after? Doesn't the girl your after have black hair with pigtails?" She tried to trick them.

"Little birdie said she got a hairdo." Bruce rolled his eyes. "Now come quietly and we might let you keep your throat."

Shadow clutched her throat. "Now that's a little harsh isn't it?" At the corner of her eye she suddenly noticed that the guards had black unicorns to ride. She smiled as she suddenly got an idea.

"What's so amusing?" Bruce snarled. "Get going!"

"Your face is amusing." Shadow raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Why you-!" Bruce lifted his crossbow higher and pulled the trigger.

In the same moment, Shadow elbowed the guard behind her in the stomach and grabbed his crossbow, blocking the bolts that zoomed at her with it. She then jumped, pushed off the guards head, shot the bolts a couple times, and rolled on the ground.

Shadow then somersaulted behind a rock and shot them back, which the guards quickly scrambled to dodge.

"No time to chat Bruce, gotta go!" Shadow called, heading across the path and keeping to the trees with the crossbow in hand.

"After her!" She heard Bruce yell as the pounding of black unicorn hooves thundered on the path. Everything was going exactly to plan.

Shadow jumped into a tree and climbed to the top, positioning herself ready to jump and her finger on the crossbows trigger.

The first guard came thundering past all the others, a rather chubby guard with a sleek, powerful black unicorn. Shadow shot the guard off the unicorn and jumped onto the unicorn just as it ran past her tree.

She grabbed its mane to steady herself and yelled a command at it to go faster. She heard the guards yelling behind her, but their screams were getting farther and farther. If she could just get through Varrock and pass the gate to the dark valley, she would be home free. They wouldn't be able to chase her anymore.

"Yah!" She yelled at the unicorn as it thundered through Barbarian Village. She heard a couple outraged screams from barbarians but she ignored them.

As she neared the bridge, the barbarian bridge guards thrust the spears forward, blocking her and the unicorn from passing them. She growled to herself as she had to slow down. The guards were getting closer. She looked at the roof on the bridge and made the unicorn go faster again. At the last second, it lunged into the air and pounded across the roof before jumping off on the other side.

Shadow realized that the guards didn't try to do the same. She heard Bruce yelling at the barbarian bridge guards to let them through before the yells began to fade in the distance.

Shadow relaxed a little but knew she was far from safe. As she passed Gertrude's house and neared the side entrance of Varrock she saw the guards eyes widened with surprise.

Shadow thundered past them and entered Varrock. She wanted to head toward her old hideout and pretend that everything that happened was just a dream but she knew that wasn't the case. She had to get in and get out. She heard the guards yelling at her from behind and knew that the guards must have gotten through.

'Not much farther yet. I can do this.' 

* * *

Ronaldo paced back and forth, kicking a building like a child ever now and again. He was like this ever since Shadow's exile a few days ago. He stopped when a hand touched his shoulder. He turned to see Marcus shaking his head. He was wearing a black hood like himself. They had to do this now if they were out in public.

"Dude, it sucks about your sister. But you need to calm down unless you want Blake to kick your ass out too." Marcus said bluntly.

"I don't know why everyone is so upset." Mallory said in her snarky attitude while filing her nails. "She got her own ass kicked out. Who really wanted her in the gang anyway?"

"Me." Narmo, Amphetro, Marcus, and Ronaldo said at once.

Mallory rolled her eyes. "You're all a bunch of wusses…" She muttered.

"It wasn't even our idea. Blake made us do this…" Ronaldo muttered angrily.

"Blake didn't make you stay with us." Narmo pointed out bluntly. "You could have gone with your sister. It would give you something a lot better to do then pace around here worrying about her-"

"No!" Ronaldo turned on him. "I'm never going back to the life of running and hiding, not knowing when your next meal is, not being able to sleep right in fear you'll be taken to jail in your sleep. I had to take care of her when I was only a level 4. It's her turn to take care of herself now." Ronaldo turned his back on them.

"You know what?" Amphetro said in a harsh tone after a moment's pause. "That sounds really selfish what you just said."

"Ronaldo turned to her with a glare. "I didn't see you sticking up for your so called 'friend'." He growled.

She scoffed. "Go to hell." She muttered before walking behind the building they were leaning against.

Narmo rolled his eyes. "I'll go calm her down." He said in an annoyed voice before following after his girlfriend behind the building.

Marcus flashed him a sympathetic look before following the others, leaving only him and Mallory.

He looked at her closely. "What, aren't you going to leave too?"

Mallory shrugged, not looking up from her nail filing. "Why? I'm not mad at you for not sticking up for her. I'm glad you didn't."

Ronaldo hung his head. "Everything I do always seems to make me look more like a jack ass." He muttered.

Mallory sighed and stood up from where she was sitting. She walked over to him and pulled his face up by the chin. "Don't be so pouty." She whispered to him. "You're sexier when you smile." She added as she winked at him, letting go of his chin. She walked away, making sure to give him a good view of her legs as she walked after the others.

Ronaldo couldn't help but stare after her. Did she just hit on him?

"Look out!" His thoughts were interrupted by various screams about Varrock Square. He turned around just in time to see a black unicorn thundering past. It went too fast but Ronaldo glimpsed brown hair with red streaks.

He quickly thrust himself in the shadows as five guards on black unicorns thundered past as well, obviously in pursuit.

"What was that about?" He muttered to himself. 

* * *

The gate was in Shadow's sight now, but she could tell the unicorn was getting tired. The bolts whizzing past her head weren't helping either. Luckily the guards were bad shots.

Just as Shadow was within jumping distance, the guards at the gate began to close the huge doors.

"No!" Shadow gasped. She shut her eyes, not bothering to slow down the unicorn. At the moment, she didn't care if she died. It would be a lot better option than going into Varrock jail. Shadow heard horrible things about that place.

She once heard that when the jail guard got bored he would tell five hour stories about when he was an adventurer with a dream. If that wasn't torture enough, sometimes he would sing the story. No way was she going to put up with that.

She opened her eyes, suddenly having a fierce determination growing inside her. She wasn't going to die today and she defiantly wasn't going to be thrown in jail.

Without thinking she lifted her hand and at once summoned energy enough to burn 20 cows into steaks and blew up the huge door leaving a huge gap. She ran past the guards, who were looking at her in shock, and galloped through the new opening.

She had the same shocked expression as they did. She quickly zipped around and looked at the mess she had just made.

She used MAGIC. How? She knew no magic what so freaking ever. It was as if something else controlled her. It felt like instinct more than anything.

The guards on the unicorns didn't falter their stride as they jumped through the opening as well and zoomed toward her. With one last shot, Bruce fired another bolt which hit the unicorn squarely in its right hind leg. The unicorn let out a pain filled whinny as it dropped to the ground, taking Shadow with it.

Shadow let out a gasp but quickly got right back up and rushed for the gate out of Varrock. It was only a few feet away from her.

Once she reached the gate, she looked back and lifted her hand in the air to do the same trick, but nothing happened. She waved her hand in the air in frustration. When still nothing happened she let out a groan and passed through the gate. Whatever else happened she was home free now. She knew that Varrock made an agreement with whoever owns these grounds to never set foot in it.

She walked a few paces into the grounds, making sure it was far enough for the guards not to shoot her, and she looked back. The guards had stopped dead right at the gate, staring after her in frustration.

Shadow smiled, deciding to take a chance. "Aw, is wittle Brucey afraid of the dark?" Shadow taunted him in baby talk. "Not so tough now are you?" She put her hands on the sides of her head like antlers and stuck out her tongue, blowing a raspberry.

She saw Bruce clench his fits and try to charge at her, but another guard blocked his way, attempting to lead him away.

"…she won't last 5 minutes out there anyway." She barely caught the guard's words as he and the other guards led Bruce away.

"Yeah! Go cry to your mommies, you big babies! 'Cause I won!" Shadow jeered after them. "Woo!" She turned around and kicked her leg into the air in victory. Her screams echoed eerily off the rock walls.

She breathed hard, finally feeling safe and victorious. As she calmed down she began to take in her surroundings. The sky got darker all of the sudden and the only sounds were bats flying and rats squeaking. Not a soul spoke.

Shadow let out a gulp, for a minute almost running back to the gates and trying her chances there.

She shook her head viciously. "Come on Shadow, what are you a mouse or a thief?" She growled to herself out loud.

She let out a huge sigh as she walked ahead through the valley, flinching at every twig snap or squeak. Almost embarrassed to do this, she began to sing softly to herself. What nobody else knew about her was if she was ever afraid she would sing softly to herself to calm down.

"All we need is a reason…" She sung softly to herself, jumping slightly as a rat crossed her path.

"All we need is right here inside us all…" She continued, beginning to feel her pulse beat harder.

"Oi! You there, lassie!" Shadow all but leapt out of her skin as a voice above her spoke.

"God! Is that you?" Shadow squeaked, looking up.

"God? No lassie. It be only an old codger such as myself." A man with a huge bag on his back answered her from on top of a cliff.

Shadow let out a long sigh to calm herself. "Well, what do you want?" She asked the old man with a challenge in her voice.

"I don't see many little girls around these parts. Are you lost?"

Shadow just wanted to keep walking, but she knew that if she was going to get anywhere she would have to ask for help. "I'm going to Canifis!" She called up to him. "Do you know where it is? By the way, I'm not a little girl. Trust me."

The old man ignored her last part. "Canifis? Why would a wee little thing like you want to go there? It's filled with zombies, werewolves, and vampires."

"Oh my." Shadow muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"But, if you're so determined I'll tell ya….for a price." He added slyly.

Shadow took a step back. "I'm not going to have sex with you in exchange for information."

The old man lifted a finger before hanging his head. "Fine…what about just a kiss-"

"Nope." Shadow shook her head.

"Fine. How much do you suppose that hat is worth?"

Shadow took off her white beret and looked it over. "About 500k." She answered.

"500k?" The old man looked at her as if she said it was 500m. "You best not be pulling my leg lassie."

Shadow shook her head. "I'll give it to you…but you have to give me the information first."

The old man blinked. "What? You don't trust me?" He asked innocently.

"Nope."

"Fine. Go straight through here and you will find a church. On the left of that church is a grave yard. Inside that grave yard is a trap door. Go down it and you will find a big dog guarding the tunnel. Get past it without waking it and go through the gate. The tunnel is straightforward, just look for another gate and go through the monk's portal. After that just go straight until you get to Canifis."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "They don't make directions easy do they?"

"Who's 'they'?"

"Never mind. Thanks." She said, walking away.

"Ah, ah, ah." He stopped her, holding out his hand down toward her.

She sighed in frustration and threw the beret up to him. He took it gleefully and muttered something to his…bag.

Shadow walked away, questioning her judgment of taking advice from a crazy old nut like him. 

* * *

"Gross!" Shadow muttered as she stepped out of the monk's portal. Going into it felt like thousands of bugs were crawling on her. She brushed herself off in disgust like there were real bugs crawling on her. She sighed as the sick feeling disappeared and looked ahead of her. There was a straightforward path, just like the old man said.

She suddenly heard a groan and looked to the right of her. A guy in a neitiznot helmet and full bandos with a god sword was swiping at zombie like creatures.

Shadow shivered, silently glad that the zombie things had something to keep them busy. But at the same time, Shadow was intrigued by the zombie things. She had never seen any so up close before.

She stepped forward before shaking her head and turning back to the path. She didn't have the proper weapons for them anyway.

She walked ahead on the path. She stopped beside a farming patch as she suddenly remembered something. She patted around in her pocket before pulling out a purple hood that went with her thieving cape. She attached it to her cape and put the hood on to cover most of her face. She doubted that anyone here would recognize her, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

She began walking ahead. She watched as the seaweed like plants swayed in the wind and tiny little lights danced around her. The ponds were murky looking and Shadow wondered where these people got fresh water from. And the smell wasn't a field of daisies either.

Shadow looked up into the sky. It was still daylight time but the sky was pitch dark. She wondered if these people ever saw the light of day around here. She stopped at a crossroad and looked to the left of her. A huge castle loomed along the path.

Shadow gulped. She was glad that the old man hadn't said make a left at here.

She continued walking. A small town loomed a few feet away from her now. She looked at a sign to see that it said 'Canifis'. She had made it!

Without thinking, she ran into the town at full speed. She controlled herself just in time as she stepped into the town. What would the people think of her if she ran in here like she was going to attack them?

She walked calmly inside and looked around. Everything here looked so…ancient. Even the people with their old time clothes looked ancient. The setting looked like something you would read out of a story book to a level 3.

Shadow sighed. It wasn't like she had imagined but she would have to get used to it. This was her new home now.

She stopped a man dressed in black and red with a top hat and a mustache. "Hi. Can you tell me where I can find the slayer master that lives around here?" She asked politely.

"What is it to you?" The man snapped at her, shrugging away.

Shadow stared after him in confusion. What the hell had she done wrong now? She stopped another man with the same attire except he was bald. "Can you tell me where the slayer master around here is?" She repeated, a slightly different hard edge to her tone.

"Over there." He said in a squeaky voice bluntly, pointing to another path leading out of the town.

Shadow nodded her thanks as the man walked away, clutching his side and groaning in pain.

"Huh…must be a stomach virus." Shadow muttered to herself.

She walked toward the path until she noticed a man wrapped in a green cloak. She looked around more to see that nobody else was around. Shouldn't there be a crowd of people here looking for slayer tasks?

She stepped forward and tapped the green cloaked man on the shoulder. "Are you the slayer master?"

The man turned around and Shadow had to keep herself from gasping. This wasn't a man! This…things skin was pure red like a demon's and its eyes were a harsh yellow color. As she looked it up and down, she saw its feet were like a demons as well.

The thing kept a harsh gaze as he spoke. "I am." He answered her question. She saw that he had fangs. "What do you want?"

Shadow blinked, keeping her voice steady and cleared her throat. "I want to become part of your slayer group." She said confidently, like she knew what she was doing.

He looked her up and down. "Not qualified." He finally concluded harshly. "Go away." He turned his back on her.

Shadow twitched in frustration. "What do I need to get qualified?" She hissed through her teeth.

He sighed as he turned around again. "Didn't you read the posters? I am a slayer master to special slayers only."

"So you're saying I'm not special?" Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"My slayer guild is only for, how your kind would say it, 'freaks' and 'outcasts'."

"I'm an outcast!" Shadow blurt out. "I don't have anywhere else to go."

The slayer master demon paused. "Why would you be an outcast?" He asked her evenly.

"I'm a thi-…ex-thief." She corrected herself. "I was kicked out of my gang and the guards are after me." She couldn't believe she just told him that. Now he's going to think that she's going to steal his stuff and run.

He didn't reply. Suddenly, his eyes turned into a brighter, harsher yellow and he stayed frozen.

Shadow looked at him awkwardly. "Um…are you ok?"

After a minute's pause, the demon's gaze turned back into his regular yellow eyes and he blinked. He nodded. "What you say is true." He concluded.

Shadow shot him a bewildered look. "What was that?" She snapped.

The demon smiled slightly. "I looked into your past. Only what happened a couple days ago."

Shadow raised both her eyebrows. "Who the hell gave you permission to do that?"

"I gave myself permission. Now, do you want to be part of my slayer guild or not?"

Shadow hesitated. "You're not going to be doing that a lot are you?" She checked.

The demon shook his head. "Only in dire situations." He shrugged. "Come." He turned to the dark woods that were next to them and motioned for her to follow him.

"I am Mazchna. The demon slayer master of Canifis." He told her.

Shadow nodded as she followed him. "I'm Shad-"

"Shadow." He said before she could finish. "I know. I saw your past." He pointed out.

Shadow rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore that. "Why is your guild so exclusive?" She asked him.

"Humans don't take lightly to things that are different than them. This guild is a safe place for 'freaks' to live their lives and stay hidden from judging eyes. The only price that is needed to pay is help the humans when they are in dire need of it. In other words, we are, how you say, 'back up' incase the humans cannot handle a group of monsters by themselves. We are stronger than them."

Shadow listened to his words intently. "So why did you let me come in? I'm a human."

"Rarely do I let humans into the guild. But you are indeed an outcast and would have nothing to gain by judging these creatures or stealing. From what I have seen, you've been through a lot lately."

Shadow stared at the ground. She didn't feel comfortable with this demon knowing most of her business.

"Ah, here we are." Mazchna suddenly stopped her once they were well inside in the woods.

Shadow looked around in confusion. "What are we looking for?" She scratched her head. All she saw was plants, trees, and more plants.

"This." Mazchna suddenly took out a blade and stabbed it into the ground, making Shadow jump. Shadow was about to snap a question inquiring if he was crazy before the ground he had just stabbed started glowing. The ground dissolved into a hole with a ladder leading down it before her eyes.

Shadow gaped at it for a couple of heartbeats before Mazchna shoved her toward it. "Don't just stand there and gawk at it!" He snapped at her. "Quickly now, unless you want the vampires to get you."

A distant screech seemed to answer him and Shadow zipped down into the hole, climbing down the ladder.

When she reached the bottom, the setting became dark as the entrance closed up again and Mazchna followed down after her. She knew that she was in an underground tunnel.

"Talk about déjà vu…" She muttered under her breath.

Mazchna came up beside her and lifted a lit torch into the air. "This way." He motioned to her with his head.

She followed him as they walked through the tunnel and came to a large metal door. Shadow looked it up a down. She saw no lock and there was no way to get around it. Clearly, these people didn't want to let any unwanted visitors inside.

"Are you sure you're not just afraid of JUDGING eyes?" Shadow dared to ask Mazchna.

He didn't look at her. "The slayers think of our guild as a monster filled guild as well. Some have even tried to kill them. Other humans and guards agree that we are classified as monsters as well. We must be well prepared and safe in case some decide to get cocky."

He walked toward to the door and pressed his hand in the center. A red outline glowed where he rested his hand and the doors swung open.

He motioned her to the door. "Right. Off you go then." He ordered.

Shadow stared into the tunnel. Inside it was lit up with torches on the wall and she could see. She walked inside, followed by Mazchna and the door shut behind them.

Mazchna put out the torch and threw it on the ground. As they walked forward, Shadow began to see different tunnels, with doors, and realized these must be rooms.

"I only have one room left." Mazchna told her. "But you will have to be roommates with another 'freak'."

Shadow hesitated before opening her mouth to ask a question.

"It's a female." He answered before she could ask. When she gave him a weird look he explained, "I concluded that it wouldn't feel right for different sexes to be in the same room to you humans."

Shadow narrowed her eyes. "More like you saw the things in my memories and figured that I wouldn't be comfortable in the same room as a male."

Mazchna looked away. "That too." He muttered, walking along the tunnel of different rooms. "Most of the rooms are bedrooms, but there are three different ones. One for washing, and yes there will be clean water for your precious human needs." Mazchna answered before she could ask. "And there will be separate washrooms for males and females. There is also one for meals, yes there will be meals to your human tastes." He stopped her again before she could ask. "And the last room is for missions and assignments which are not assigned as frequently as other slayer guilds." He finished. "Any questions? Good." He concluded before she could answer. "I will show you to your room." He walked ahead.

Shadow clutched her fists. "Stop doing that." She hissed through her teeth.

They stopped once they were in front of another plain wooden door. "In here you will find your new roommate and an extra bed. I must warn you though, she is…temperamental and will not take to you so quickly. And her appearance is an…acquired taste."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "How bad is she?"

Mazchna looked to both ways. "Let's just say there is a reason why she does not have a roommate…" He muttered.

Shadow narrowed her eyes, but Mazchna just nodded. "Well, have fun." He said more optimistically. "Get some sleep and wake up time will be at 8 sharp." He finished and walked away.

Shadow watched him go before turning back to the door. She hesitated before knocking on the door. When no one answered, she opened the door and walked in.

"Hello?" She muttered, looking around the room, closing the door behind her. "I'm your new roommate." Her gaze rested on a figure on the left bed in the room, a black figure with its back facing her.

"Hi?" She asked again.

The figure suddenly started and before Shadow knew it, two black stringy wings sprouted from the figures back and a screeching sound came from it.

Shadow looked at it wide eyed, but didn't make a sound.

When it calmed down, the wings folded back inside the figure and it became still again.

"Uh…" Shadow muttered, not sure what to say.

"Who are you?" The figure hissed at her. Shadow thanked the stars that its voice sounded like a normal female voice.

"Your new roommate…" Shadow repeated in frustration.

"Go away." The thing hissed again.

Shadow clutched her fists. "Listen, I came a long way and had to go through a lot of crap to get here so I don't need a freak like you to tell me to go back now. So, if you have a problem with me, suck it up and let's be on our way."

The thing suddenly whipped around to face her. "Now do you want to share the same room with me?" It screeched.

Shadow stared wide eyed at what she saw. This…thing was covered in a plain black cloak and black hood covering most of her face. From what didn't cover her face, she had pale skin, a long red scar going across the left side of her face, along with other tiny scars around her face, and her eyes were black with a red crimson tint in the center.

Her arms had different snake and dragon tattoos and long scars like she had been cutting herself.

Above all, she was a freak, but Shadow didn't make a peep. She looked at this creature evenly, she noticed that it had black aura around it and she was poised like a cobra ready to bite.

"I'm not afraid of you." She told her. "I've seen worse." She shrugged.

The thing seemed to calm down because the aura began to lift and she relaxed slightly. "You're the first one that hasn't run away screaming." She blinked at her, speaking in a depressed monotone. "And you are even a human."

Shadow blinked back at her. "So, have I 'proved' myself enough to let me stay here?"

The thing looked at the extra bed across the room and then back at her. "Only for a few days. I don't want your judging human self sniffing around here for long."

The thing settled back into her bed while Shadow moved toward her new bed muttering, "Geez…someone needs a hug."

Shadow made the bed comfortable and lowered herself into it. She sighed in relief. Been a while since she had a real bed and not a makeshift one. "I'm Shadow." Shadow introduced herself. "You?"

The thing had her back turned away from her. "I didn't let you stay here so we could become friends." She growled.

Shadow put her hands behind her head and looked up at the ground packed ceiling. "That's too bad because you seem like a great people person." Shadow said sarcastically.

They paused for a few heartbeats before the girl muttered, "Midnight."

Shadow looked at her weirdly. "Huh?"

"My name, human dim wad." She hissed. When she didn't say anything else, Shadow looked back up at the ceiling.

She figured that she was lucky enough just to get a name out of this thing. This was going to be a looong couple of days… 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Woo! Let's celebrate! *throws confetti into the air* Longest chapter I ever wrote!

Ok, a few notes. I apologize if Mazchna didn't fit his character on Runescape but I kind of made him my own (no, I don't own him or any of the Runescape characters I use).

Now, on to announcements…for those of you who are my loyal fans (all four of you :P) "Alaska's Destiny Sequel: The Four" will continue! Now, before you get excited I must warn you about a few things. Those chapters will not come as frequently as these chapters because this story is my main priority right now and we are having TWO people working on this story. But my other story will continue.

R&R!


	6. The First Mission

Chapter 6 

* * *

The First Mission 

* * *

Shadow woke up with a jolt.

It was the second day at the guild and she was still unsure of herself around all these people.

She always felt like someone was watching her. She felt as though whoever was watching was very envious and had hatred towards her. Even when she slept it felt the same way.

She had felt that way a little bit when she was in Varrock with her former gang. She could tell a lot about a person from their eyes. Fear, love, hatred, guilt, excitement, envy. She could see even more than that sometimes. But with certain people, she couldn't see anything.

Blake was one of those people. He was always so focused on the money and gold that she couldn't even see much of any emotion. Even when he told Shadow that he loved her, she didn't see love in his eyes, she just saw a want and a sort of manipulative look. He seemed to know exactly what was going to happen and what he was going to do and what others would do before they even moved.

Shadow knew he couldn't see the future, but he just seemed to know anyone that he saw. The only thing Shadow could see in his eyes was hatred, want, and manipulation. He didn't care who you were, he knew how to get what he wanted.

The "freaks" at the guild somewhat reminded Shadow of Blake by what she could tell so far. She could look into their eyes and see pain and see that they were re-living a time in their life that had lead them to come here. She wanted to get to know them all, find out why they were here and what made them the way they were. But she knew it wasn't her place.

She almost felt guilty about the others there. She hadn't gone through what they had. She didn't know what it felt like to be ignored or kicked out of where you lived for what you are or just because you're different than everyone else. She just knew what it was like to be betrayed by the people that you trust.

She let out a long sigh. However she felt, she knew that she just had to make due. This was her new home now, being that her new roommate starts to accept her. Last night wasn't really the best first impression.

Shadow looked over at the big clock at a far corner in the room. It read 8:20.

"Crap…" She muttered under her breath. She mentally cursed herself for not waking herself up in time and mentally cursed her new roommate for not waking her up.

She slowly sat up and looked around better now that there was more light in the underground room. She saw that her roommate had gotten up on time and 'forgot' to wake her. She was surprised to see that her bed was made. Somehow she didn't come across as a tidy person to her.

Shadow messed around with her hair. It felt greasy and she knew she smelled funky. She remembered Mazchna telling her around the washrooms. It she was lucky, she could get washed up before breakfast.

She jumped out of bed, stumbling slightly because of her leg, and began to walk to the door. She froze for a second, noticing a book on her roommates bed, but decided to ignore it.

"Snooping through her stuff…yeah that would really get yourself into her good graces." Shadow muttered sarcastically to herself.

She opened the door and closed it behind her. She noticed right away that the pathways were at least slightly more welcoming than they had been when it was darker. Doors were also open from other people's rooms and Shadow figured they had gone to breakfast or to wash up too.

"Gah…why did I have to wake up late on my first day?" Shadow sighed out loud, running her hands through her greasy hair.

"I'd like to know the same thing."

Shadow jumped as a familiar voice spoke beside her and she looked to see Mazchna, a glare on his face.

She laughed nervously. "Sorry…I, um, was never the one to get up on time. For anything. But I'll try harder if you just give me a chance-"

"I'm not going to kick you out for being 25 minutes late for wake up time." Mazchna interrupted her. "Now if it was 30 minutes late…"

Shadow's eyes widened, than relaxed as she saw a twinkle of humor in his eyes.

"I take it your new roommate didn't blow your head off?" Mazchna inquired.

"Well, she wasn't exactly…inviting…" Shadow muttered.

"And don't expect her to ever be. She'll put up with you, but that's about it. She's not here to make friends and take my advice, you shouldn't be either."

Shadow sighed in frustration. "At least she told me her name…"

Mazchna raised an eyebrow. "That's certainly progress. Now, shall I direct you to the washing room?"

Shadow shook her head without thinking, not liking the thought of needing to be lead somewhere like she was a blind bat. "I think I can find it myself…"

Mazchna chuckled. "That may be, but it isn't you getting lost that I'm worried about. Come." He led the way and after a few confused hesitating moments, Shadow followed.

"What do you mean?" She asked, catching up to him.

"I admit, not all the things here are merciless monsters who would kill you without giving it a second thought, but they are still here. I must let them know that you are not an enemy. Mind you, some might not care and don't expect to be rescued by bystanders."

"It's really that tough here?" Shadow asked in a slightly worried tone.

Mazchna shook his head. "For monsters of their kind, no. For you humans, yes. These creatures have been building up grudges for a long time now and a human just walking into our hideout will seem like just the thing they need to blow off some steam. I strongly urge you, don't draw attention to yourself."

"What if I pretend that I'm one of them?" Shadow checked.

"They would know you were lying by your scent and it would just give them more reason to hurt you."

They stopped walking when they met a crossroad in the tunnels. Mazchna motioned to the left.

"Down that tunnel is the female washroom. The other way is the male washroom. Come back to this tunnel were in and make a right and it will lead you to the tunnel where we serve meals."

Shadow gripped her head. "How many tunnels are there?"

"Too many to count." Mazchna smiled the best he could, being a demon. "Good luck." He then walked down the tunnel he said led to the meal room.

Shadow took a deep breath and headed inside the left tunnel. From the way Mazchna was talking, she seemed to be in as much danger here as she had been outside. But what else could she do? By now there were posters of her everywhere all over Runescape with a large reward being offered knowing the Varrock guards. She could learn to live here. She could appeal to these things better natures if need be.

As Shadow got closer she began to realize she heard rushing water. What made her shiver were the grunts, groans, and growls with it. Shadow finally came to a door and took a breath to calm herself before going inside.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Inside was a secret underground cave. She couldn't smell or feel any stuffy dirt in the air, only the fresh air of an underground world. The cave was huge, its silver roof at least 30 feet tall. As she looked around, she noticed that there were cloths hanging around to dry yourself off with and there were at least 30 different doors to go into different parts of the cave. Shadow figured they were the actual rooms where you wash yourself.

Shadow grabbed a cloth and walked further inside. She began to notice that there was other…things in here too. They were wet and they had a cloth around them so Shadow only naturally figured they just finished washing.

She raised both her eyebrows in surprise as she gave these things a closer inspection. One of them was completely blue and legs were growing back where a fishlike tail just was. Another was big and furry like a walking bear. Another had no eyes and a snake tongue slipped out now and again.

Shadow tried not to stare. She had to pretend that she was one of them now. Like, she didn't care how they looked. But that wasn't the same case for her apparently because as she walked through the cave looking for an open door, all eyes turned to her. Some were hostile, some were just curious.

Shadow suddenly remembered why Mazchna had escorted her through the tunnels. "Some protector you turned out to be Mazchna…" She muttered under her breath. Though, she figured that was just in case anyone was in the tunnels.

She was relaxed when she finally came to an open door and rushed into it, away from judging eyes.

"Now I know what they must have put up with everyday…" Shadow realized to herself.

She locked the door securely behind her before going into the room. She was surprised to find it clean and neat looking. It was just another part in the cave but a small pool formed in the middle.

Shadow narrowed her eyes. The pool was TOO small..way too small to wash yourself in.

Something suddenly caught her eye and she put her cloth on a rock before walking over to it.

It was a handprint, she realized. Above it was some writing that was engraved into the wall.

"Use magic here…" Shadow read it out loud. "Are you serious?" She growled in frustration.

She tensed as she heard a knock outside. "Human, are you in there?" The voice seemed kind so Shadow knew it wasn't Midnight.

"Y-yes…" Shadow replied uncertainly. "Who are you?"

"Call me Aqua. I'm the blue 'freak' you saw when you came in." Aqua replied. Her voice at least sounded humorous.

"Well, what do you want?" Shadow still wasn't sure about this person.

"To help. I don't suppose you know any magic to get the raincloud working, do you?"

'Raincloud?' She thought to herself, but didn't ask it out loud. "Why would you want to help me?" Shadow asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Because…", Aqua hesitated before continuing in a lower voice, "I used to be a human."

Shadow raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as Aqua continued. "I know what it feels like, being human. So I want to help you in whatever way I can."

"But you're a…fish." Shadow muttered boldly.

"Half-mermaid, thank you very much." Aqua growled. "I had the appearance of a human before I got older. Do you want my help or not?"

"Help with what again exactly?" Shadow asked in frustration.

"The pressure point you need to use magic on. There's a trick to it for humans. Just stare directly into it, make sure your eye is in full view of it."

"My eye?" Shadow asked. "What does my eye have to do with anything?"

"Just do it." Aqua snapped.

Shadow sighed in frustration, but walked over to the pressure point. She crouched down until her green eyes were level with the point.

"OW!" She jumped back as the red light burned through her eyes and made them sting. She clutched both her eyes and stumbled around the room. Her anger started building as she heard Aqua giggling from behind the door.

"What did you make me do that for?" Shadow snapped at her, rubbing her eyes fiercely.

"I'm still an outcast and an enemy to humans. You're lucky that I'm even helping you. Let me at least get my fun out of it." Aqua replied.

Shadow growled. "You had your fun now. How do I get this thing to work?"

"Ok, ok. Just kick it."

"…Kick it?" Shadow clutched her fists.

"That's what I said." Aqua said in a know it all tone.

"Hey! Aqua!" A new voice spoke up. "What are you doing over there?"

"I need to go." Aqua whispered to her. "If anyone ever mentions me, pretend you don't know me. We never talked to each other. Got it?"

Before Shadow could reply, she heard Aqua retreating from the door after the voice that had called her.

"Nice to meet you too…" Shadow muttered under her breath. She was slightly disappointed. She wanted at least one person to like her while she was here. It seemed dangerous to be in this place and not have one single ally.

She turned her attention back to the pressure point and kicked it bluntly. She jumped as she heard a click and looked up to see a cloud forming over the pool. In seconds, the cloud was medium sized and rain came pouring like a waterfall from it.

"The raincloud." Shadow muttered to herself in realization. She put her hand under the water and sighed as the warm water hit her hand and dirt from her hand washed into the pool.

As she took off her scarf and began to un strap her boots, she looked into the crystals on the cave wall that showed her reflection. She realized how much she had changed in the last couple of days. The gang had made her confident and ready to take on the world. Yet, it made her heartless and needy of them as much as she hated to admit it.

She sighed and stood up as she put her boots next to the scarf and cloth and began to unbutton her top.

A good cleaning…that was what she needed right now. A good cleaning and a clean slate to go alone with it. 

* * *

Shadow stepped out of the washing room and breathed in her new clean smell. Her clothes were a little bit damp from the spray of the water, but they were still wearable.

Shadow dropped the dirty cloth on top of the other ones and headed to the exit for the washroom. Only a few creatures remained and Shadow noticed that Aqua wasn't one of them. She played around with her damp hair nervously as the few remaining creatures eyed her with pure hatred in their eyes.

As she opened the door to exit the washroom, she saw in the corner of her eye a figure walking toward her. She turned around to see a purely white skinned girl standing over her. She was at least a foot taller than her and had dark purple hair that reached down to her shoulders. Her purple eyes matched her hair and her long, black nails were perched on her hips as she poised like an agitated snake.

"You don't belong here." The girl hissed at Shadow. "Humans should never be allowed down here."

"Maz-" Shadow's voice came out as a squeak and she quickly cleared her throat before continuing, "Mazchna let me come here. I'm an outcast like you." After she finished she knew she had said the wrong thing because the girl let out an even larger hiss and swooped in front of Shadow like a zipping mouse, blocking Shadow's only exit.

"You have no idea what it feels like to be one of us!" Her voice suddenly became deeper and demonic as Shadow backed away. "I will tear you limb from limb and spit out your remains to the birds-"

A loud siren and a flashing red light cut off the rest of her threat as Mazchna's voice boomed through the washroom, "All the following slayers to the mission room: Madusa, Troll, Kola, Tetsu, Midnight, and Shadow."

Shadow looked up in surprise before muttering stupidly, "Me?" Before remembering who she was next to.

The girl sneered, "Looks like we're going to be partners for this mission." Her voice was back to normal. "Madusa. Got the name memorized?" She walked through the door she was standing in front of and left an exasperated Shadow to get her senses back together.

She shook her head to clear it and clenched her fists. The old Shadow would have challenged that jerk to try something. This new Shadow was cowering like a level 3.

"I didn't even get to eat breakfast…" She muttered bad temporally before opening the door and running to catch up with Madusa, considering she didn't have a clue where the mission room was. Why would Mazchna pick her? She only just got here. She was only just learning the ropes!

She only just reached the crossroad tunnel and saw Madusa's long slender black dress just flowing through the tunnel that led to the meal room.

Shadow followed her and saw her disappear to the right to another tunnel just inside it.

Shadow went inside and saw Madusa open a door at the end of the short tunnel. Shadow ran up and caught it just as it was closing, walking inside to see everyone else was already there.

Shadow waved at Midnight, but she made no acknowledgement that she saw her. Shadow also noticed a blonde boy that actually looked human with an eye patch on his left eye, the same girl she saw that had no eyes and a snake tongue, and a troll with smooth orange hair on top of his head sitting in the corner.

The room had one single chair and wasn't very big with maps attached to the walls and different pictures of monsters. A glass ball sat on a table next to Mazchna. Mazchna sat on the lone chair and nodded at everyone.

"Right. We're all here. There has been a sudden outbreak of Aberrant spectre and the other slayer masters have called us in for backup. Normally I wouldn't call in such inexperienced slayers, "He nodded to Shadow and the blonde boy and the snake girl, "but I figured this will be good experience for you. More experienced slayers will be assigned to less experienced."

"Madusa and Tetsu will be together." He nodded to the blonde boy and Shadow's new enemy. Madusa sneered in acknowledgement while Tetsu spit at the ground, which sizzled before dissolving.

"Acid-spit." Mazchna grunted at the tiny hole in the ground before continuing. "Troll and Kola." The orange haired troll scratched its head, while Kola merely stuck out her snakelike tongue.

"And Shadow and Midnight. If you haven't gotten any weapons to fight with, take one of the whips on the rack." He pointed to the rack full of whips next to them. "Also, each of you take one of these." He stuck out his demon hand which held 6 nose pegs. They all took one before he concluded saying, "Look out for one another and try to stay out of the human slayers way this time. We don't want another incident." He shot a glare at Troll who hung his head, grumbling something in troll language.

Everyone grabbed a whip off the rack before filing out of the room. Shadow stepped back to match Midnight's pace.

"So…looks like were partners. This is great! You can show me how you do things around here and-"

"I'll make sure that you don't get beaten into a bloody pulp but that's it." Midnight's growl cut her off. "The rest of the time, stay out of my way." She sped up to leave Shadow behind her.

"No, I'm not nervous at all thanks for asking. How are you? Want to be best friends for life?" Shadow muttered under her breath sarcastically. 

* * *

Madusa, Tetsu, Kola, and Troll had gone ahead leaving Shadow and Midnight to walk in awkward silence as they headed along the path to the castle that Shadow now knew was called the Slayer Tower. It loomed eerily overhead and Shadow took a gulp of air. She hated just looking at this thing and now she was going inside it with someone that looked like she would murder her for no reason at all.

She looked at Midnight who was strutting confidently to the castle a little ways ahead of her, her cloak flowing behind her.

Shadow sighed. She felt like a stupid apprentice and Midnight was her easily angered mentor who had no patience what-so-freaking-ever.

Shadow tried to pick up the pace and walk next to Midnight, but each time she tried Midnight just picked up the pace more. Shadow narrowed her eyes in frustration.

"Look, I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to be. But it looks like we're stuck with each other, so can we at least try to get along?" Shadow asked hopefully.

When Midnight only made a grunting sound in response and sped up again, Shadow lost her temper and ran up to Midnight, grabbing her arm violently. "Look! All I want is for us to just get along-"

"Don't touch me!" Midnight screeched at her, her red eyes suddenly glowed brighter and Shadow's eyes widened as something dark began to take over. She quickly released her arm and backed away as Midnight clutched her hood muttering, "No! Stop!"

At last, the dark that began to take a hold of her began to fade and Midnight seemed to calm down. Shadow didn't move from her spot as Midnight kept walking to the stairs of the tower that were only a few feet away from them now.

'What was that all about?' Shadow wondered to herself as she started running to catch up to Midnight. She walked through the all ready open door after her. She stayed silent now as Midnight allowed her to walk beside her now that they were inside the tower. She glanced at her awkwardly, wondering what to say after that. Then she shook her head, figuring the best thing to do would be to say nothing at all. Midnight clearly had bigger anger management problems than Shadow had guessed.

Shadow kept her mouth shut as they edged around old crusty hands that were…walking themselves. Shadow eyed them in disgust while Midnight walked past them like she didn't even see them. Of course it was only natural she was probably here a million times while this was her first time.

Midnight stopped in front of a chain next to a broken table and looked up at it. Shadow figured that they were supposed to climb it. Determined to prove to Midnight that she wasn't a big chicken, Shadow pushed in front of her and gripped the chain tightly. Suddenly, a powerful smell hit her and she jumped back

"EW!" She exclaimed, pinching her nose. "WHAT IS THAT?"

"Aberrant spectre." Midnight said bluntly. Shadow was shocked to see that not one tiny inch of humor crossed her face. "You're supposed to put the nose peg on first, idiot." Saying so, Midnight put on her nose peg and began to expertly climb up the chain.

Shadow watched Midnight climb up the chain before she put on her nose peg and muttered in a mocking nasally voice, "You're supposed to put on a nose peg. I'm so much smarter than you. Durr hurr."

She jumped on the chain and climbed up rapidly in 3 seconds flat. This was a piece of cake with her experienced agility skills. When she reached the top, Midnight raised an eyebrow at her getting up there so quickly, but said nothing.

"So…" Shadow began, "What exactly are these things that we're supposed to be killing?" She asked her, expecting a sharp retort.

"Big stinking blobs that can kick your ass." Midnight replied in her deadpan voice.

Shadow rolled her eyes as Midnight went away. "Don't give too much description…geez."

Shadow suddenly noticed something that she hadn't before. "Where's your whip?" She asked Midnight. Hers was still tightly gripped in her hand.

"I don't need it." Midnight snapped in response.

Shadow sighed in pure exasperation. "How are you supposed to kill the monsters then? Your bare hands?"

"Why do you care what I do?" Midnight glared at her. "I told you to stay out of my face. You can kill these things your way and I'll kill them my way."

Shadow watched her go around a wall and was about to go after her, but stopped herself. She shook her head and waved her hand in dismissal at Midnight as she turned away. "Forget you…" She muttered.

As she looked around the place, she began to take in how much danger she was in. The room was dark and eerily quiet, and it felt like something was watching her from every corner. Even with the nose peg on, she could still catch a faint trace of the gross smell that had hit her at the bottom of the chain. She would be happy if she could kill at least one of these things and then leave.

She suddenly saw something move in the corner of her eye and turned to see a shadow moving slowly behind the wall that Midnight had just gone behind. Should she warn her? Heh, the know-it-all probably knows that it's there already. Still, Shadow couldn't help fill a twinge of worry as the silence dragged on.

She headed to the wall and peaked around it. Just as she did so a beam of light hit and Shadow watched in amazement as Midnight fought a giant sludge monster with just her fists…her glowing black fists.

Midnight grunted at each punch as if it hurt her more to actually attack this thing than it did getting hit by it. Shadow was about to jump out and aid her, but she hesitated. It looked like she was doing a good job defending herself. Besides, if she tried to help then she would just get her head blown off for getting in Midnight's way.

Suddenly, Midnight's glowing black fists faded and Midnight looked at her fists in outrage. The Aberrant saw its chance and punched Midnight squarely in the jaw with its slimy fist. Midnight fell to the ground with a cry of pain and the Aberrant was on her in a second. It picked her up by clutching her throat and its slime began to pour onto her, slowly covering her body.

"No!" Midnight gasped, completely helpless as she struggled against the monsters grasp.

Now Shadow knew that she had to step in. Without thinking, she ran over to the Aberrant and sliced her whip expertly through it, cutting it in half. Midnight dropped to the ground with a thud in a slimy mess as she caught her breath.

Shadow watched as the Aberrant began to form back together and Shadow poised her whip, ready to attack it again.

When it became whole, it lunged at her with a screech and she met it halfway. She dodged its blows and stayed just out of reach of its grabbing hands. She whipped it across the face, receiving a satisfying cry of pain from it as the goo flew across the room. It being distracted, she whipped it over and over again, making small chunks of its gross goo flying across the room each time.

Finally, only a small part of it remained and Shadow smashed down on it with her boot as it let out one last screech of pain.

She breathed hard and smiled brightly. What a rush! That was the best feeling in the world. She suddenly remembered Midnight and turned to see her looking up at her with emotionless, unblinking eyes.

She finally spoke, "I could have done that myself." She snapped at her in annoyance.

Shadow narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, obviously. I could tell that from you nearly suffocating and your powers suddenly failing. You're welcome by the way." She added in a harsh tone.

Midnight said nothing, only turned away and gave her a small nod that could have meant anything.

Shadow sighed. "Right…I think we did enough damage here for the day. Do you need help getting up-"

"No!" Midnight snapped at her, struggling up by herself. "I'm fine." She began to head back to the chain, limping, but stopped and looked back. "Why did you help me?" She asked her.

Shadow shrugged. "You needed help so I gave it to you. Besides, that's what…friends do for each other." She had no idea why she had said that.

Midnight hesitated before muttering, "Friend?" As if the word was foreign to her. She shook her head. "We should get back. We have reporting to do and you have to explain why we could only kill one Aberrant."

Shadow watched her as she headed down the chain, surprised to not have gotten a scathing retort to her friend comment. Maybe…could it be…she was finally getting through to her? 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Helloooo people. If you don't already know about it, check out my other story "Alaska's Destiny Sequel: The Four". I just posted a new chapter last week I think and it's epic if I do say so myself.

Also, thanks to Jessica for writing some of the beginning for this chapter. Remember if I seem like I'm taking a long time with this story, it's because of school and I'm writing two stories at the same time.

Review!


	7. Friendship

Chapter 7 

* * *

Friendship 

* * *

Just as Shadow could see a lot of things about someone from their eyes she could see a lot about people from their facial expressions.

Mazchna was, obviously, not happy with Midnight and Shadow. His eyes looked like red flames of anger, his jaw was tight, and a view on his forehead was pulsing. It almost looked as though smoke was coming out of his ears.

"Only one Aberrant?" He yelled, "And you almost got killed, Midnight?"

Midnight stared back into his blazing eyes. She didn't seem afraid of him, or thrown off guard. She didn't even look sorry.

She looked as though she just wanted him to stop talking. Like she didn't want to hear it. There was no sign of embarrassment in her face.

She was a very defensive person, even in the face of the one in charge.

Shadow, on the other hand, was blushing and had her head hung. She didn't want to have failed on her first time, but things didn't go as planned.

Mazchna clutched his fists on the armrests of his chair. Shadow could tell he was using every fiber in his being to hold himself back from attacking them. For a demon, that took a great amount of willpower and Shadow couldn't help but be impressed.

Mazchna finally took a deep breath and looked squarely at both of the girls. He sat up slightly and allowed himself to let his arms support his weight. Shadow realized that for the first time, other than when they first met, he was giving her a glimpse of his demon side. He must have had a lot of training to be able to control it so well.

"I will allow this to be overlooked just this once. Only because this is your first time." He nodded at Shadow. "But as for you," He turned back to Midnight. "You have had much more experience and YOU should be the one protecting; not the other way around. I expect better performance in the future."

"It isn't her fault!" Shadow piped up. "Her…powers…failed." She was silenced by a deathly glare from Mazchna.

"No excuses. She was in charge and was told to look after you. If she failed, no matter what the reason, she is still the one at fault. Midnight, you will go the night without supper. Dismissed." He finished before Shadow could argue.

Midnight whipped around, her cape whipping with her, and headed through the door of Mazchna's office. Shadow turned to her in surprise, turned back to shoot one last glare at the demon, and followed after Midnight.

Finally catching up with her as she moved at a swift pace, Shadow cleared her throat. "For a demon, he doesn't show anger that often." She tried to make conversation. When Midnight didn't respond she continued, "I bet he has mini dolls of us stashed somewhere and rips off their heads when he gets fed up with us." She laughed quietly, but quickly frowned when Midnight didn't even show a smirk on her face.

"Aw, c'mon!" Shadow began to whine. "I know my jokes aren't the best, but you could at least give a pity laugh or even a smile."

"I couldn't if I wanted to." Midnight said in her deadpan voice, quickening her pace.

Shadow frowned and shook her head. Why couldn't she just TALK to her? She didn't even get a proper thank you from her for saving her damn life! She sped up to catch up with her again. She reached out her hand to grab her arm, but remembered what happened the last time she did that and quickly thought better of it.

"Do you really hate me that much?" She demanded. "What the hell did I do to you that was so bad?"

"You're a human." Midnight answered as bluntly as ever. "It's only natural that we hate you."

"I'm not asking why everyone here hates me. I'm asking why YOU hate me." She growled at her.

"That's none of your business." Midnight said, trying to speed up more, but Shadow ran in front of her, blocking her way.

"Get out of my way!" Midnight snarled at her, trying to barge her way past.

Shadow copied her every movement, staying in front of her at all times. "Not until you tell me why you hate me. I saved your life for Guthix's sakes!"

"GET OUT OF MY DAMN WAY!" Midnight tried to ram into her, but she was just as strong and forced her back.

"WHY DO YOU HATE ME?" Shadow just about screamed.

"Who the hell told you I hate you, anyway?" Midnight said unexpectedly, she was breathing hard now. Her wounds must have not healed completely yet.

"Um, gee, I don't know." Shadow said in a tone that was aching with sarcasm. "How about for starts you never smile, not even a smirk?"

"I told you I CAN'T." Midnight said firmly. "Can't means can't, incapable of, unable to do. Catching on yet princess?"

"How can someone not be able to smile? To not be able to do that you need to be, I don't know, emotionless or something." Shadow rolled her eyes.

Midnight gazed at her steadily. "Nice job Sherlock." She growled, barging past her now.

Shadow stood there, half stunned as the shock of realization finally hit her. Midnight…didn't have any emotions. That's why she didn't feel any gratitude. That's why she never laughed or smiled. That's why she acted like she hated her. She couldn't help it. But how was this possible?

Shadow turned around and watched as Midnight's boot just went around a corner, toward their room. She wanted to know more than that. She wanted to know why Midnight was this way. But why? It was none of her business. But for some reason, she felt pity for her. To not be able to laugh or smile or even cry ever again? How could this have happened?

She jumped as Mazchna's voice spoke from somewhere above her. "Report to the food hall for supper at once."

Shadow frowned upward at the voice and moved to the sides of the tunnel as more and more creatures began to creep out of their rooms, grumbling about how hungry they were.

Shadow WAS hungry, but now not so much. She began to take the path Midnight had back to their room, hardly noticing the glaring eyes of monsters around her.

She got back to the door of their room and she tried to open it, only to find it was locked. She growled to herself and banged on the door, in no mood for these games. "Midnight! Open the damn door. This is my room now too you know."

When there was no answer, she rolled her eyes and stuck her finger into the lock, swiveling around with it until she unlocked it. This was easy compared to some of the locks she had to unlock.

She opened the door and slammed it hard behind her. Midnight was on her bed with her back facing her, muttering to herself. When she heard the door she sat up slightly but didn't turn around. "Why are you here already?" She growled.

Shadow walked until she reached her own bed, sitting on the very edge of it. "You mean why didn't I go to supper? I'm not hungry." She said in a surprisingly calm voice. "Why did you lock the door?"

"I was going to open it by the time you came back." Midnight growled back a reply. Shadow could see the side of her face now. Her eyes were closed and the palms of her hands were together as if she was praying.

"You're religious?" Shadow asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm-" Midnight stopped. "That's none of your business." Her voice sounded different this time, as if she wanted to tell her but couldn't. Or knew she shouldn't.

Shadow blinked. Common sense told her to stop talking, but curiosity screamed at her to find out more. Curiosity won. "So…you don't hate me?" She asked carefully.

"I don't know." Midnight said in her usual monotone. "The few remaining emotions I have tell me I don't. At least not completely."

"I thought you didn't have any emotions." Shadow narrowed her eyes. Was she lying now?

For a moment, Shadow swore she saw a vein pop in Midnight's forehead as she tried to shut her tighter. She let out a long sigh, obviously giving up whatever she was doing and turned to Shadow. Her already red eyes seemed to be darker than before, but turned into their normal color when she looked at Shadow.

"I have the emotions of anger, rage, and sometimes sadness." Her voice was strained as if she didn't want to tell her this. "Nothing else. So you can stop worrying your pretty little head about if I like you or not, because you wouldn't be able to tell."

Shadow blinked. "You think I'm pretty?" She teased.

Midnight raised an eyebrow. "I may be emotionless, but I'm still straight."

Shadow's eyes flew open. "What? NO! That isn't what I met-wait. Are you just joking?" She narrowed her eyes.

"I can't joke. Haven't you been listening?" Midnight frowned. She turned her head away, studying a book that was placed on her lap.

"…How did you get this way?" Shadow asked boldly. For some reason she felt like she was finally getting through to the girl.

Midnight whipped around to face her again at once and her red eyes glared harshly. "Where the hell do you come off asking-"

"Ok, ok." Shadow interrupted her. "I was just asking, never mind." She muttered.

"…I don't want to talk about it. Especially not to a stranger I barely know."

"Hey! This stranger saved your life." Shadow pouted. "And I didn't even get a thank you for that." She turned her head away pointy, crossing her arms like a stubborn child.

"…Thanks." Once again, Midnight's voice was strained to the point of breaking and she screwed her eyes shut tight.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "It's that hard to say 'thanks'? Whatever, you're welcome." Just then, a loud rumbling noise struck around the room.

Midnight opened her eyes again and looked closely at Shadow. "So, not hungry?" She said in her monotone.

Shadow laughed nervously and shrugged. "I wasn't five minutes ago?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"You wanted to know more about my past." Midnight guessed.

Shadow shrugged again, looking at her swinging legs that were hanging on the side of the bed as if she were a child being apprehended. "That might have had something to do with it…"

"I don't tell my life story to complete strangers. Would you?" Midnight inquired.

Shadow scoffed. "Of course not." Though in the back of her mind she thought of that squirrel that she had talked to. "But would it kill you to at least answer this: What exactly ARE you?"

Midnight blinked and looked down at her book. "I don't think there's a name for what I am. I've never thought about it. No one has ever asked me. Though, no one knows all you know as it is. Most take one look at me and avoid me as best they can."

Shadow felt a stab of pity for her. "I'm sorry-"

"I don't want your pity." Midnight snapped. Then her gaze softened. "Habit." She muttered something that Shadow took to be an apology.

"Well, what do you call yourself?" Shadow asked, hoping to get some sort of answer.

"…I think I said enough. It will be time for lights out soon." She picked up a lit candle in a holder that was on a small table next to her. Shadow only now just realized that candle, and her own that was next to her bed as well, were the only things keeping the room lit.

Midnight puffed at the candle and her side of the room went dark. Shadow picked up her own candle, but didn't blow it out at first. She looked deep into its flame. It was a reddish-orange color just like any other fire but with a blue core. Shadow never really took the time to admire a flame. It was truly powerful, she realized. More powerful than anything.

She watched as it flicked around. She felt herself being hypnotized by its color and shape. She knew that some powerful mages could blow candles out with their minds. Though, unless properly trained, even if you were able to accomplish it there was a chance of death. At least, those were the rumors that Shadow heard.

She closed her eyes and thought about the many fires that had kept her and her brother warm at night. Her mind swept back to the day after the 'incident' had happened. They were so lucky that Ronaldo, who was only a level 4 at the time, had only recently begun to grasp the arts of survival. That night was freezing, she remembered, and she would have just about froze to death if her brother hadn't built that fire, his first fire. Ronaldo and she were so close…what happened?

She gripped the candle holder tighter in her hands and screwed her eyes shut tight, she didn't know whether to growl in anger and frustration or cry. None of them seemed the right choice. Midnight didn't seem like the sort of person to let a show of weakness go too easily.

"If you're going to fall asleep upright like a unicorn, can you at least blow out the candle?" A skeptical voice spoke from the dark side of the room.

Shadow opened her eyes and looked toward the direction of the voice. In the darkness, she could only just make out two red eyes staring at her. She felt a shiver go up her spine at the unblinking eyes. As if they were watching, waiting, for her to fall asleep so they could attack her and sink their teeth-

"If I wanted to kill you in your sleep, I would have done it last night. Go to sleep." Midnight seemed to know what she was thinking and Shadow watched as the red eyes disappeared, she figured Midnight had rolled over to face the other side of the room.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Shadow asked in astonishment.

"You gave the same terrified expression humans give me. Though, they usually give that expression the moment they see me. Are you afraid of the dark?"

"NO!" Shadow answered at once, allowing a blush of embarrassment to cross her cheeks, knowing Midnight wasn't watching her now.

"Then blow out that candle." Came the monotone, sounding more tired now.

Shadow sighed and nodded. She puffed the same way Midnight had and the whole room went dark. Shadow tried to get comfortable in her bed, only now just realizing she still had her boots on. Might have been a good idea to wait till she undressed herself a little more. She was too busy trying to prove she wasn't afraid to Midnight, she realized.

She threw off her boots, deciding to just go to bed like this for tonight. She scrambled onto bed, getting herself into a comfortable position. She shut her eyes at once, willing sleep to come. She hoped if she overslept Midnight would at least wake her up this time.

"Human?" Came Midnight's voice. Shadow jumped slightly, she was only just now dozing off.

"Yes?" She asked in exasperation, keeping her eyes shut tight. "And my name's Shadow." She tried to correct her.

"I call myself a Soulless."

Shadow's eyes flew open at this and she just about sat upright. "Why tell me this now?" She asked her.

"…I'm tired of holding things in. Can we just leave it at that?"

"So you have no soul? How did this happen? Were you like this all your life? Were your parents the same?" Shadow asked a flurry of questions. She couldn't help herself. Her curiosity had to be quenched.

"Human…" Came Midnight's warning tone.

Shadow sighed. "I know, I know. One step at a time I guess." She added under her breath. She closed her eyes again, though she knew it would be a while before she went to sleep now. She was too excited.

Midnight had finally shown that she trusted her! Or at least slightly.

* * *

Shadow let out a loud gasp and sat bolt upright in her bed. She clutched her chest, feeling her hummingbird like heartbeat beginning to calm down.

She was shaking and breathing raggedly. She never felt so terrified in her life. She looked over at the big clock in the corner of the room. It was 7:30.

Shadow rubbed her temples, trying to control her breathing and shaking. Last night it took a long time to fall asleep, as she had predicted. But when she finally did, she wished she hadn't. Her dreams were nightmares filled with her worst fears that were supposed to be locked in the darkest corners of her mind.

She had trained herself to lock them up tightly, so as to not show what she was afraid of. This was taught to her by Blake, who had told her if she was ever caught that she would teach herself to not let a mage get too deep into her mind and learn all her secrets.

So what had caused that concentration to break?

Shadow suddenly remembered her roommate. She dared not to look over to her in bed, in fear that she would see her looking at her in mockery.

Still, she dared glance over to the bed and saw she was not there. Her bed was made and her book lied on top of the sheets.

Shadow let out a breath of relief. No wonder she never woke her up. She must get up at 7:00 every day.

Shadow looked up at the clock again. It read 7:33 now. She debated going back to sleep, and then decided against it. It wasn't because of the fear of experiencing more nightmares, she told herself firmly, she just didn't want to get in trouble with Mazchna again being late.

She sat on the edge of her bed, letting her feet dangle as she grabbed her boots. Once she slipped them on, she decided to get cleaned up before any of the other monsters woke up. She didn't feel like dealing with them while fear scent was sure to still be freshly on her.

She walked across the room and went through the door, shutting it behind her. Her stomach growled loudly, but she knew breakfast wouldn't be served until 8:00.

She walked through the usual tunnels until she faced the one that led to the female washrooms. Just as she stepped into it, she heard a sneer behind her.

"Did you have pleasant dreams last night, human?" The sarcastic, snarky voice said, followed by a few different kinds of low pitched and high pitched laughs.

Shadow twitched before turning around. Towering over her stood Madusa with a smirk on her face. Behind her were two creatures that Shadow hadn't seen before. One was white skinned with long white hair that reached down well across her back. She had black, beady eyes and she was extremely skinny. Shadow saw fangs sticking out through her cherry red lips and an odd looking print was plastered right in the middle of her forehead.

The other girl was ghostlike and transparent. She seemed to be very young, at least a level 5, and she floated in the air. Her short blonde hair was barely noticeable because her whole body was practically disappearing. She was barefoot and in rags as if she were a child slave when she was killed. IF she was killed.

Shadow turned her attention back to the snarky girl standing over her. "What do you mean?" She asked her, her tone hard and suspicious.

Madusa shrugged innocently. "I was merely wondering how you slept. Can't a girl ask a question to her new human friend?" She blinked, her sarcasm being clear in every word she spoke.

"What did you do?" Shadow demanded. She had no idea what she did or how she did it. But she knew she did something.

Madusa looked at her long black nails absentmindedly. "I don't know what you mean" she said smoothly.

"She scared stiff your sorry ass." A high pitch voice spoke behind Madusa. The ghostlike girl in the rags floated over to stand beside Madusa. "Human minds are so easy to penetrate." The girl gloated.

"Rita! I would never do such a thing to our new friend." Madusa said slyly.

"Do what?" Shadow hissed through her teeth.

"She went into your mind, genius." Shadow jumped and turned around. The other girl with the print of her forehead was blocking her way to the washroom. Wasn't she just in front of her?

Shadow whipped around to glare at Madusa. "You…?" She began to piece it together.

Madusa smiled bigger. "Yup, I went into your mind. It's one of the perks of being a demon I suppose. I had no idea you were afraid of so many things." She took a step toward Shadow, who took a step back.

"Looks like the ex-thief is a big scaredy-cat." The ghost girl named Rita laughed her high pitch laugh.

Shadow glared at them before spitting, "Bas-" She tried to turn around to barge past the weird printed girl, but she pushed her back aggressively.

"That sentence better be 'bass fishing'." She snarled. "What's your rush? Hang out with us a little while." She stepped toward her. Shadow tried to step back again but Madusa and Rita were blocking her way. She was trapped.

"Agreed, Moonstone. We can play 'peel the human's skin off a little at a time until she cries'." Rita rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

Madusa shot her a look. "Way to be subtle Rita…" She made a face palm, careful to keep her claws away from her skin.

"Just leave me alone assholes!" Shadow snarled at them, trying to get past. "Ah!" She let out a cry of pain as her body suddenly hit a wall with force. The girl called Moonstone had her hand facing her and the print on her forehead was glowing. Apparently she was a psychic.

Shadow was pinned against the wall by an unseen force. Her feet were a little bit off the ground.

Madusa walked over to her and placed her claws directly on her neck, only barely touching. "Never call us that." She rasped in her demonic voice.

Shadow gulped and began to shake. She hated this, showing fear, showing submission. The old Shadow, the thief, would be spitting in this girl's face; challenging her to kill her. But this new Shadow was scared out of her wits.

"What are you going to do?" Shadow asked her. "Torture me?"

Madusa shook her head slowly. "No. We would be caught if we did that. It's better just to get this over with quick." With that, Shadow felt her digging her claws slowly into her throat.

Shadow gripped the wall, holding back a cry of pain as she felt her own hot blood begin to drip.

Rita was beside her, laughing manically into her ear. Moonstone was watching more at a distance, her hand still lifted, pinning Shadow against the wall with no hope of escape.

'You're an ex-thief for Guthix's sake! Get yourself out of this mess somehow!' Shadow snapped at herself, but her limbs felt completely helpless. She was at the mercy of these creatures that had a thirst for human blood and revenge.

Just as all hope was lost, a voice spoke behind Madusa. "Let her go, rat." The voice was calm and Shadow recognized it instantly.

Rita had stopped laughing and was looking behind Madusa with her mouth wide open. She looked…scared. Moonstone even looked paler than she already was and Shadow felt the force pinning her to the wall loosen slightly.

Madusa whipped around and hissed. "Back off Midnight. This is no concern of yours."

Shadow could see her now. Midnight's arms were folded and her cloak was draped around her. She didn't look urgent or that angry, just annoyed.

"It is, actually. You see that human you have pinned against the wall is my roommate and I'd really rather not have my room smelling like blood all night." She raised an eyebrow, her voice staying perfectly even.

"Oh, relax. I was going to kill her. She wouldn't have to stay in your room anymore unless you enjoy the smell of a corpse." Madusa growled.

"I really don't give a damn what you say. I told you to do something. Now leave her be." Midnight ordered, her voice becoming harder as she took a step toward them.

Madusa smirked. "Growing a soft spot for humans, are we Midnight?" She taunted. At this, Midnight's eyes began to turn redder and she started to take her hands out of her cloak but Madusa stopped her. "Fine, fine! You can have her. Not worth getting my hands bloody anyway…" She nodded to Moonstone and the force that held Shadow lifted all together.

Shadow fell to the hard ground with a thump, and she gripped her neck, coughing violently.

When she looked up, her hand still clutching her neck, Rita and Moonstone were nowhere to be seen. Apparently they made a run for it. Madusa passed Midnight with a sniff, walking slowly as if she were leaving on her own accord.

"I can see why you would hold such a grudge against humans, Madusa." Midnight suddenly said, making Madusa stop. "After all, you are half one aren't you?"

Shadow saw Madusa clutch her fists and spit, but she forced herself to keep going. Shadow looked at Midnight in amazement. Was what she said true?

Once Madusa was out of sight, Midnight walked over to Shadow. Shadow looked up at her in surprise as she reached a hand down toward her. Her face held no concern or satisfaction, only the same frown. Shadow took her hand, still clutching her neck with the other as blood leaked out, and allowed Midnight to help her up.

Shadow blinked, looking for the right words to say. But all that bubbled out was a plain, "Thank you."

Midnight shrugged. "I owed you that." Though Shadow could sense something else beneath those emotionless words. "You should get that wound checked on." She said, changing the subject.

Shadow nodded. Her hand was nearly completely covered in blood now. "Do you have a hospital here?" She rasped out the words.

"We have a nursing room. Can you walk there yourself?" Midnight inquired.

Shadow tested standing herself without the support of Midnight, but nearly fell over before holding onto Midnight again. "That answer your question?" Shadow rasped.

Midnight sighed in annoyance, revealing the Midnight Shadow knew. "Fine. I'll get you there but after that you're on your own." She draped Shadow's arm around her shoulder and allowed her to lean on her.

"Thanks." Shadow said again.

"Just shut up and wear this." Midnight snapped, untying her hood off of her and draping it over Shadow's head until it covered her face. She was too quick for Shadow to see what she looked like without her hood. "Just stay quiet. If anyone sees me helping a human I'm going to kill you."

As they started moving, Shadow smiled under the hood. "Whatever you say…" _friend_. She added to herself. For once in a longtime feeling a little happy despite nearly being murdered. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Ok, finally! Here it is you guys. I could give you guys a lot of excuses but I won't. I'll just say sorry for the long wait, I promise I'll pick up the pace from now on, and stay tuned for the next chapter. A lot of interesting questions to be answered :)

Also, thanks to Jessica for writing a tiny bit of the introduction again. This will probably most likely be a regular thing. One more thing…Jessica has written her own story!#!~#!

Check out her story "Fandriv and the Islands of Loxso" by JawMaster97!

REVIEW!


	8. Not as She Seems

Chapter 8 

* * *

Not as She Seems 

* * *

Shadow sat in the nursing room holding a piece of cloth up to her neck while the nurse, Ramankila, was putting together a combination of potions to stop the bleeding and heal the wound. Midnight had already left and went off on her way once she got Shadow to the door and took her hood back.

Ramankila was a small woman-looking creature. She looked like an old lady from the back, but once you saw her face, you could tell that she wasn't completely human. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were very small. The corneas were yellow near the center and turned a dark, deep red farther from the pupil. She was covered in wrinkles and had very grey hair tied back into a loose bun. She was short and had a bad hunch. Probably from hunching over the medicine table mixing potions.

"So," Shadow said, trying to start a conversation, "How long have you been doing this?"

"Doing what, exactly?" Ramankila said in a hoarse voice.

"Making medicine." Shadow said, still holding the cloth to her neck.

"Longer than you've been born. Before your grandparents were born. It was a crazy world back then. Though, not as different from how it is now." the small, old woman said.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked surprised.

"The humans still had more power than any other creature. The gnomes were still at war with the people from Ardougne. Merlin was still alive. There was still the Knights of Camelot. And there were still gangs of thieves roaming around Varrock and Falador." she explained.

The part about the gangs of thieves reminded Shadow of Ronaldo, Blake and her former gang and even Cloud and his gang. She felt a shock of grief and betrayal.

Shadow shivered slightly as she remembered Cloud. He was alive, and she could bet 10k that he was pissed at her. She tried to remember why she had tried to kill him. He was about to make her the 'other woman' but still…

She remembered seeing black hair instead of blonde, brown eyes instead of blue, and all and all…she saw Blake instead of Cloud. She wanted revenge for what he did to her, but instead took it out on Cloud because he was about to do what Blake had always done to her. And that terrified her so much that she was willing to kill to keep that from happening.

But even though she thought that her actions were justified, she knew they wouldn't be in the eyes of the Falador gang.

Despite these thoughts, she remembered what Cloud had said to her right before her world crashed…again. He had called her a prize and had told her it killed him knowing she was in Blake's bed…so did he think of her as a common toy as well?

Shadow clutched her free hand into a ball and began shaking, only this time with rage.

Ramankila must have noticed this because she puffed out, "The wound beginning to affect you, child? Hold your unicorns, the potion is almost ready." She turned back to the bottles and added a couple last ingredients to a potion.

Shadow made a face as she watched the green liquid begin to bubble up. "Do I have to drink that?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Ramankila took the potion in her wrinkly hand and turned back to Shadow. "No. You have to sit there like a good young'un while I rub this on your wound. Now, remove the cloth and tilt your head back." She ordered.

Shadow did as she was told and looked at the ground ceiling. This wasn't a comfortable position but Shadow sucked it up. She flinched slightly as the weird liquid made contact with her open wound. It stung like hell but she endured it.

She opened her mouth to ask something but was cut off by Ramankila, "Don't talk." She growled as she continued to work. "So, who gave you this nasty wound, anyways?"

Shadow opened her mouth to speak again but once again was cut off, "What did I just tell you?" Ramankila snapped. "Was it that new snake girl? She looked like she had a short temper."

Being smarter this time, Shadow shook her head. "Hold still!" Ramankila's short temper struck again and Shadow sighed inwardly in frustration.

Ramankila stayed silent now and Shadow felt the pain on her neck beginning to lessen. Whatever the old hag was doing was working.

Finally, Ramankila took the bottle, which was now empty, and set it back on the table. Shadow didn't dare move her head yet, in fear of being snapped at again.

Ramankila turned around and nodded at her. "Unless you enjoy sitting in that position, you can move now young'un."

Shadow sighed in relief and moved her head down, causing her neck to make a loud cracking sound. She felt around her neck to see how her wound was, but was surprised to feel nothing but wetness from the potion. Shadow looked at Ramankila in surprise.

Ramankila raised an eyebrow. "What, you've never seen a full restore potion before?" At Shadow's shake of a head she sighed loudly and muttered to herself. Shadow caught a couple of words like, "These young'un's these days…don't know nothing…when I was a young girl."

Shadow cleared her throat and jumped off from the table she was sitting on. "Well ok. Thank you for healing me. I guess I'll go now and-" She began to thank her politely.

"Stay." Ramankila ordered in a commanding tone. "I need to give you something for the shock." Shadow began to protest but she cut her off yet again, "Do you think I can let you run around all willy-nilly without giving you anything for shock? Mazchna would have my hide." Ramankila began to sort through her many bottles once again.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. Why did she need anything for shock? She felt perfectly fine now. Then, a sudden thought crossed into her mind. Ramankila must be lonely. Her small room was tucked in far away from any of the other ground-packed rooms. And seeing as these creatures were not mortal they must not need treatment that often. Ramankila must want someone to talk to, though she's too proud to admit it. Shadow decided to humor her. After all, she was the first…creature that didn't treat her like a common criminal.

Shadow perched herself back on top of the table and let her legs swing around. She then remembered what Ramankila asked earlier. "It was Madusa." She said out loud.

Ramankila glanced over at Shadow for a split second before going back to her bottle sorting. "What did you say young'un? My hearing ain't as good as it used to be."

"Madusa was the one that did this to me." Shadow repeated more loudly.

At this, Ramankila whipped around so fast that Shadow nearly fell off her table. "Madusa? My gods child, you should be thankful you're even alive!"

Shadow blinked in surprise. "She's that bad?"

"That bad? She shows no mercy to humans that come to these parts. Especially when she gets a hold on them. She first tortures her victims, and then she sucks the life out of them." Ramankila's eyes opened twice their sizes as she spoke.

"Why does she do that?" Shadow asked, horrified.

Ramankila's eyes went back to normal and she turned around again. "Her own personal grudge against humans, child. She doesn't hate them for the same reason most of the other creatures that live here hate humans." She took out a smaller bottle and poured some liquids into it as she spoke.

"…Is she really a human?" Shadow dared to ask, remembering what Midnight had whispered to Madusa just before she left the scene.

Ramankila stiffened but didn't turn around. "Half-human, young'un. Half-demon as well. I wouldn't be talking about this around her though. She gets mighty angry if anyone refers to her as a human in any way."

"Why does she hate humans so much if she is one?" Shadow was suddenly extremely glad that she stayed.

"To understand the answer to that you would have to hear the story of her past. And I'm sure a young'un like you doesn't have time to spend too much time with an old badger like me. I know you slayers have your responsibilities and what-not." Shadow noticed that Ramankila was going extremely slow with her potion making, despite what she said.

Shadow shrugged. "I've got time. Hell, I've got loads of time." She smiled, trying to sound convincing.

"Don't cuss child it doesn't become you. Anyways, if you're sure I'm sure I could tell you a few things if you wish." Ramankila's potion making was at the point at almost stopping now as she began to speak.

"You do know who her father is, don't you?" Ramankila began.

Shadow shook her head, but, realizing that Ramankila's back was still turned toward her, she told her no.

Ramankila scoffed. "Figures. No wonder the child is so messed up if her own father won't even acknowledge she shares his blood." She muttered to herself. More loudly she told her, "The head of the guild is her father."

Shadow choked on air at once. "Mazchna is her father?" She coughed out.

Ramankila nodded. "That's the one. He's the demon part of her. You see, young'un, a long time ago when Mazchna was merely starting out in the slayer business, he fell in love with a human. Gorgeous young thing. I've seen her only a few times in my lifetime but I remember her clearly. Wavy brown hair, chestnut colored eyes, nicely built figure. Hard to believe she fell for a demon."

Shadow pictured it in her head and shuddered. "Why did she fall in love with a demon anyway?" She asked.

"Love makes you do weird and dangerous things child. It blinds you. Though, I wouldn't expect a young thing like you to know that. When you're in love, you'll understand." She turned around and looked her straight in the eye. "Though, I reckon that might've already happened." She added with a twinkle in her eye.

Shadow felt nervous underneath her gaze. "What do you mean?" She asked in a small voice.

Ramankila chuckled slightly and turned around again. "Anyways, not a few months had gone past since they began dating they were married. Then, 9 months later, their daughter was born. But by that time the human had opened her eyes to what Mazchna really was. She was angry and afraid. When she found out that their daughter possessed the same powers as her father, she couldn't take it anymore. So she left them both high and dry, even after all the promises she made to Mazchna. He never forgave her for that and neither did Madusa."

Shadow frowned and looked at the ground. "So that's why she hates humans so much…" She murmured thoughtfully.

"Wouldn't you hate your own kind if they killed someone precious to you?" Ramankila asked. She stirred a blue liquid with one of the little sticks she had next to her.

Shadow flinched noticeably, but quickly coughed to cover it up. "I wouldn't hate my whole own kind." She said defensively. "Only the one who killed them…" She whispered almost to herself.

Ramankila turned around with the bottle in her hand. She raised an eyebrow but didn't question her. She hobbled up to Shadow and held the small bottle out to her. "Take this, child. It should help with the pain…of whatever you is feeling."

Shadow nodded and took the bottle. Without so much as smelling it, she took a sip of it, only to spit it back out almost at once. She coughed and sputtered and rubbed her tongue, trying to get the taste out of her mouth. "What the hell is that?" She spat.

"Newt's eye, dragon's toe, ogre saliva, and troll hair. What the hell did you think you were getting? Candy and tree sap?" Ramankila snapped, staring at the newly spit up floor in disgust.

"Can you at least put in a little honey or something?" Shadow asked between spits.

"What do you think this is? A four star inn? I ain't here to make sure slayers get comfort, ya'know! Just drink the potion." She commanded.

Shadow sighed and pressed the bottle to her lips. She plugged her nose with her hand and chugged down the potion as fast as she could. She swallowed it and immediately had to cover her mouth with both her hands to keep herself from throwing it back up.

Ramankila smirked. "There, that wasn't so bad was it?" She took the bottle that was now next to Shadow's leg and placed it back with the other empty bottles. "Give it a few seconds. It'll go down soon enough."

"Sooner would be good." Shadow gasped out between wretches." Her hands moved from her mouth to her stomach as the weird potion coursed through her. She bent over, using all her strength not to puke her guts out.

Ramankila looked on in amusement. "So the young'un who brought you in, were my eyes deceiving me again or was that the loner Midnight?"

Shadow was left gasping for air, taking a minute to get her wits back in place before sitting up right again. "Yeah…it was…why?" She asked between breaths.

Ramankila frowned thoughtfully. "So it's finally happened…she's befriended someone of her own kind." She muttered to herself.

Shadow felt her heart stop for a few beats and she stared wide eyed at the old hag. "…Excuse me?" She murmured.

"One of her own kind, a human. Didn't you know?" Ramankila asked in a confused tone.

Shadow gripped the table tight to keep herself from passing out. "MIDNIGHT'S A HUMAN?" She said more loudly than she needed to.

Ramankila blinked multiple times. "Oh…I guess you didn't know. Oops." She cleared her throat. "I mean, I knew that she didn't want anyone else to know but you being the only one she's shown any kindness to…"

Shadow shook her head violently. "I think you're mistaken. Midnight's a Soulless. She's told me herself. She doesn't even look like a real human!"

Ramankila sighed before looked straight at Shadow and nodding. "I guess there's no hiding the truth now. Yes, she's a Soulless now, but she wasn't born that way. Soulless never are. They just…happen."

Shadow stayed frozen, shifting a little now and again. She needed time to process this. Midnight…is one of her kind? A former human being? Was this why she treated her differently than the others? Because she knew what it was like to be a human?

"You ok young'un?" Ramankila asked. "You need some more potion for shock?"

Shadow immediately shot upright. "NO! I mean, no thanks I'm fine. Thanks for everything. Can I leave now?" Her voice was almost pleading. She wanted to get out of there. She wanted to confront Midnight about this. To ask her why she had kept this a secret for so long. HOW she had kept this a secret for so long. And more importantly, how she had ended up like this.

Ramankila looked her up and down before finally nodding her approval. "Very well, but-"She cut herself off as Shadow jumped off the table and ran through the door. "BUT PACE YOURSELF CHILD!" Ramankila yelled after her. She rolled her eyes fondly. "Remember when we were like that, Harold?" She talked to the air, a smile creeping on her wrinkly face. 

* * *

Shadow had finally stopped outside a large door to the next room. She heard dishes clattering and growls and chattering going on from the other side. Obviously, food was still being served and she thanked the gods for that. She was starving. She hadn't eaten in days and she was itching to sink her teeth into a nice, juicy piece of beef.

She reached to open the door, but stopped herself. She knew right away all eyes would be on her once she walked in. Hate filled, judging, killing gazes. She suddenly knew what it felt like to be one of them. And she felt sorry for them…

She took a deep breath. She had to deal with it and get used to it sooner or later. Might as well start practicing. She repeated what she had to do over and over again just like she did when she was a thief. Don't look at the creatures, get food, find a table preferably an empty one, eat the food, and go back to their room.

She bit her lip. This was going to be hard and terrifying. Especially if Madusa and her passé would be there. She peeked through the tiny crack in the doors. From the tiny view she was able to get, she saw about 10 monsters sitting together on one large table, each monster having a tray of disgusting looking food in front of them. They didn't seem to be paying attention to each other, only attacking the food in front of them in an unmannerly fashion.

Shadow winced as she watched one monster in particular, a creature with a wolf's head but a human body, tear into what appeared to be some kind of animal's leg in front of it. Blood was splattering everywhere and the monster's sitting beside him didn't even seem to notice it. Shadow couldn't help but think of those gleaming fangs tearing into her flesh, instead of that raw animal leg.

Shadow reeled away from the door and took a deep breath. She just had to blend in and get rid of this fear scent that she knew must be coming off of her in waves right now. She shook herself and forced herself to calm down. What happened to the old Shadow? She wished she knew. She wanted the fearless thief Shadow back.

She clutched her fists and stood up straight. She cleared her throat and opened the door with a little bit more force than she had in mind. She winced at the somewhat loud creek, but was surprised to see none of the monsters were looking at her…yet.

She stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. All eyes were still fixed on the food sitting in front of them. One or two of them were talking to the monster next to them. None of them seemed to even acknowledge the presence of the only human in the room.

Shadow let a smile creep up on her face. She wanted to keep it this way. She scanned around the room once more. There were at least 35 tables placed around the huge room, each seating about 8 people though Shadow noticed that most of them were empty, and across the room was a glass wall with another creature behind it. Shadow could see different types of food behind the class and wooden trays beside the food.

She walked across the room at a casual pace keeping an eye at everyone she passed. She finally noticed a table in the far corner of the room, sitting at least 7 creatures, 3 of them being Shadow's tormentors. Rita and Moonstone were busy tearing into their food, but Madusa was staring straight at her with a glare on her face. She didn't call out to her, didn't make her noticed, she only stared at her with obvious hatred plastered on her face.

Shadow returned the glare before continuing toward the glass. Never in her life would she think of Madusa as anything but a demon.

Shadow reached the glass and got a better look at the creature behind it. She was surprised to see that it was the blonde haired boy with the eye patch that spit acid, Tetsu. He looked up from whatever he was doing when she approached. He seemed to be swooshing something around in his mouth, which unnerved Shadow.

"What do you want?" Tetsu snapped rather rudely. "I don't have all day." He swished around some kind of dirt colored goop in one of the bowls with a stick.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" She asked, too focused on whatever he was swishing around in his mouth to hear the question properly. She was sure that that was acid and he would spit it at her if she got on his nerves.

Tetsu sighed dramatically as if Shadow just asked him an extremely complicated question. "What do you want to EAT?" He repeated the question more forcefully. "You're in the food hall, staring at different kinds of food, talking to the server, what the hell did you think I was asking?" He growled.

"Tetsu, be nice to the slayers!" A high pitched shrill woman's voice spoke from behind a door that Shadow just now noticed was behind Tetsu.

Shadow held back a laugh. "YOU'RE the server? Who did you kill?"

Tetsu frowned darkly, swishing whatever was in his mouth to the other cheek. "You, if you don't hurry up and order. This is punishment for not listening to my commands from the all powerful Madusa." His voice ached with sarcasm. "Now are you going to order or would you rather slowly starve to death?"

Shadow didn't answer right away. She let her eyes travel over the many bowls of disgusting looking food. Most of it was raw, slimy, greasy, already chewed, or…moving.

"Gee, it all looks so delicious." Shadow commented in obvious sarcasm. "I don't know what looks tastier, the bloodied up goat eyes or the dragon's infected toe."

Tetsu sighed dramatically once again. "Oh that's right I forgot that you human's were picky. Fine, would you like me to ask the chef to make you an extra special chicken dinner?"

"That would be nice-wait. You're kidding aren't you?" Shadow frowned at the joke and inwardly frowned at herself for believing it.

Tetsu dropped a wooden tray with an odd looking fish on it in front of her. "There, that's the most normal thing we have. If you don't like it you could either starve or go back to your little human friends." Tetsu growled, clearly not expecting a response as he turned away from her.

Shadow stared at the odd looking blue fish. It looked raw and it still had teeth in it. Its eyes were staring at her and it smelled like…well…rotten fish.

"Lovely." Shadow sighed under her breath. She took the wooden tray and turned around to look for an empty table. There were at least 6 empty tables, but Shadow's gaze rested on one with a single creature sitting in it. Midnight had her hood back over her head and she was using her finger to play around with her food on the tray in front of her.

Shadow headed toward the table. She eyed the tattoos, the cuts, the red eyes, and the gray skin. Shadow would never have guessed that Midnight had used to be a human. She doubted that Midnight herself could believe it anymore.

As Shadow approached, Midnight stiffened and sat up straighter. Her face wasn't hostile; it only showed her usual bored, somewhat relaxed look. "How's the wound?" Her tone didn't hold any hints of concern in her voice, but Shadow knew it was there.

"Ramankila healed it. I'm all better now." Shadow forced a smile even though she was really itching to ask Midnight about her double life. How could she judge Madusa for being half human when she had human blood as well? And surely Madusa knew about this?

"Well, are you going to just stand there and stare out into space or are you going to sit and attempt to not throw up that fish?" Midnight asked in her monotone, tapping the table with her fingers in impatience.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Is that an invitation?" She asked half jokingly.

"It's an approval." Midnight answered back, turning back to what looked to be balls of dough in front of her.

Shadow sighed and pulled out a chair. "How come you're the only one sitting here?" Shadow asked as she placed the tray on the table and sat down.

"I always eat alone." Midnight replied bluntly, taking a ball in her hand and studying it.

Shadow frowned and turned around to see that monsters were finally staring at her now. Though, their faces mostly betrayed shock more than hatred.

"Why are they looking at us like that?" Shadow asked, turning around.

"Like what?" Midnight asked as if she didn't even notice. She popped the ball into her mouth and looked over where Shadow was looking. "They're probably shocked that anyone, especially a human, would be fearless enough to sit with me." She said with her mouth full.

Shadow made a face in confusion. "Are you really dangerous or something?"

Midnight took her time answering as she chewed the food in her mouth. When she swallowed, she answered, "When I first came here, Madusa treated me like she treats you now. I finally got sick of her crap and attacked and defeated her to the point where she begged me to let her go. Apparently I was the only one to ever challenge her, let alone defeat her." She took another ball in her hand and studied that one as well.

Shadow's eyes widened. "MADUSA begged for MERCY?" She tried to process this in her head.

Midnight nodded slowly. "I did to her what I nearly did to you outside the Slayer Tower. I would have stopped her with or without that anyway. Madusa is a bully, nothing more and bullies are easy to defeat." At Shadow's confused look Midnight sighed. "Meaning, they prey on victims whom they think are easy to defeat. If they stand up to her, she fears them. None of these idiots seemed to realize that." She ate another ball and chewed slowly.

Shadow's right eye twitched. "You're just telling me this NOW?" She snapped. "I could have used that!" She slammed her fist on the table.

Midnight watched her calmly as she swallowed. "Human, it wouldn't have helped if you knew that. Like it or not you're a coward and a cowardly human is Madusa's main prey. You can't do anything but run."

"What if I mention to her about being half human like you did? That seemed to have affected her in some way." Shadow suggested.

"Do that and your life is definitely over." Midnight said darkly. "She attacks anyone who mentions about her mixed blood without mercy. The only reason she didn't attack me is because she's afraid of me."

Shadow bit her lip again. "Well, that doesn't seem fair."

"Who said that monsters were fair? Of course, you're a human. So you probably wouldn't know." Midnight ate another ball.

Without really thinking, Shadow suddenly blurted out, "But you're not a monster either." She instantly regretted opening her mouth.

Midnight's eyes suddenly widened and she swallowed her ball quickly and looked swiftly from left to right before leaning toward Shadow and replying to her in a hushed tone. "Keep your voice down, human. What are you babbling about?"

"Ramankila told me that you used to be a human before becoming a Soulless." Shadow replied boldly a little too loudly.

"SHH!" Midnight hissed at her, looking toward the table nearest to them.

"So, she was telling the truth then? You ARE a human?" Shadow demanded, more quietly this time.

Midnight frowned. "Whatever Ramankila told you, it means nothing. The past is the past."

"You didn't seem to mind that when you taunted Madusa about being half human." Shadow shot back. "Why didn't she say anything back?"

"Why do you think I've been shushing you, human?" Midnight asked her slowly, as if she were talking to an idiot.

Shadow sighed heavily. "Why is it that you're able to disguise yourself but I can't?" Shadow frowned at her.

"It isn't a disguise, human. I'm a Soulless now. I can do things that I couldn't do when I was like…you." As if to prove her point, black aura began to lift up around her before she waved a hand and it was gone.

"You could also do things that you can't do now. Assuming you weren't born emotionless." Shadow lifted her head in triumph that she actually made a point that Midnight couldn't argue with.

"Listen to me human, you-"She suddenly stopped and looked over Shadow's shoulder. Shadow raised an eyebrow and turned around. She felt her heart jump in her throat as she saw Madusa, Moonstone, and Rita heading their way. Rita and Moonstone were dragging behind looking timid while Madusa approached them with her head held high.

Shadow's first instincts were to run, but knowing that Midnight was there with her she felt a little safer. Though she couldn't be completely sure if Midnight was in the mood to save her right now if anything were to happen.

Madusa stood over their table and nodded at both at them. "I see that your unfortunate wound has been healed." She commented to Shadow, eyeing her neck hungrily.

"What do you want Madusa?" Midnight snapped at her, causing Moonstone and Rita to jump and edge behind Madusa more.

Madusa calmly faced her. "Calm yourself Midnight. I was merely coming over to tell your new _human_friend something that I failed to mention earlier due to an…interruption." She dragged out the word 'human' as if it were some kind of poison.

"She's not my friend." Midnight growled at her, casting a glance of hatred at Rita and Moonstone who shivered in fright.

"Oh, good." Madusa leaned down until she was face to face with Shadow and said to her in a threatening, whispering tone, "You listen to me, _human_. Midnight won't always be around to protect you and the second she isn't I am going to kill you in a slow, painful death. But until then, I will unleash every single thing you fear, every horrifying thing that you have buried deep into your mind, into your nightmares and they will torture you to the point that you will be begging me to kill you." Her hushed tone was demonic and Shadow couldn't help but gulp loudly.

Madusa leaned away and stood up straight. "I think I made my point. Ciao, human. Ciao, human _lover_." Madusa sneered at Midnight, causing her to ball up her fists and shake in rage. Madusa motioned Rita and Moonstone to follow her with a snap of her fingers and walked away with her head held even higher than before.

Midnight, who was stilling shaking with rage and gritting her teeth, suddenly grabbed one of the balls in her hand and hurled it straight at Madusa.

"Midnight!" Shadow gasped at her but it was already too late. The ball hit Madusa squarely in the back of the head and she let out a shriek of surprise. All eyes turned to her as she patted her hand at the back of her head and scooped some of the contents. She stared at it before turning around to shoot daggers at Midnight.

Midnight's corners of her mouth were twitching and she had one eyebrow raised. Shadow figured it was the closest thing to a smile she could muster. She was also standing up now and didn't bother sitting down and pretending she didn't do anything.

Madusa let out a loud growl and hurled some of the contents of the ball back at Midnight, who ducked at just the right time with ease. The contents hit another creature behind Midnight and it let out a surprised huff. The creature was green, one of its eyes were missing, it was bald and wearing a goblin like outfit, but when it stood up it was at least 6'8 and towered over them.

It crushed the contents in its giant bare hand before reaching down to grab something off its own tray. Shadow had to stop herself from retching as the giant picked up a raw half eaten sheep head and hurled it randomly at anyone who was in the way.

It hit another creature who got splattered with blood and let out a shriek of disgust.

With all this happening, Shadow knew what was coming before it happened.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

At a random creature's cry, food was suddenly being flung everywhere as creature's hooted and screeched and even laughed with pleasure. Shadow propped herself under her table to keep herself hidden as she knew if she was spotted she would be the main target.

Soon after, Midnight joined her with a satisfied huff as she flicked a bit of food off her cloaked shoulder. "That'll teach the ass…" She muttered under her breath as she watched the food fly.

"Don't you think this was a little bit of an ill thought out plan?" Shadow asked her critically as a glass suddenly crashed just above them.

"Human, you're in the monsters world now and here we don't think we just do. Remember that and stop acting like a coward." Midnight scolded her as she peeked her head above the table.

Suddenly, Shadow heard a loud voice echoing around them, though no one else seemed to notice as the war dragged on. "SHADOW AND MIDNIGHT TO THE SLAYER MASTER'S OFFICE, NOW!" Mazchna yelled around them.

Midnight sighed heavily and got out from under the table, closely followed by Shadow who looked around in confusion. "How did he know we started this-wait. I wasn't even involved!" She snapped indignantly.

Midnight looked around the chaotic room and frowned. "Would you look at that, looks like baby bird went to tattle on us to daddy bird." Midnight hissed sarcastically as she headed for the door, dodging food the best she could.

"WHAT 'US'? I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Hellooooo my lovelies :)

As usual, big thank you to Jessica for writing the beginnings and for making up the inspiring character: Ramankila XD She was really fun to write.

Ok, SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE! For me anyway…Thursday is my last day before VACATION! During that time I will be able to write a lot more and post chapters faster.

So in honor of summer, I propose a challenge to my amazing readers. First of all, thank you so much for all the reviews they really give me a reason to continue with this story and do my best for you guys. Now, I have a way to benefit the both of us.

Today is Tuesday so I will give you until next Tuesday, a whole week, to write reviews until there are at least 20 reviews and if you succeed I will post chapters every 4 DAYS! The reason I say 4 is to give me enough time to write but not enough time that you guys feel cheated.

So, one person can post more than one review if they want but it won't count. It has to be different people. Sorry guys :(. The reason I'm doing this is to mainly satisfy my curiosity as to how many faithful readers do I really have and do they have any questions about the story like is something confusing them or something….and of course I likez reviews :)

Of course it being summer there will be weeks where I won't be able to write such as in the end of the month I will be camping for 5 days. But the rest of the time I will be writing as much and as fast as I can and by next Tuesday I will have the next chapter posted and I will announce then if you guys made the deadline or not.

I think that's all so…HAPPY SUMMER GUYS!

Remember to REVIEW!


	9. Second Chance

Chapter 9 

* * *

Second Chance 

* * *

Blake slammed his fist onto the table. His face was contoured with rage.

"Wow! This is just wonderful! You all have failed! Epically! I can't believe this. Wait! Yea! I can believe this. You all just had to go off on your own and try. 'Please, Blake! We can do it on our own! Trust us!'" Blake was yelling. He mocked one of the thieves. Every word that was coming out of his mouth was spilling with hatred.

"I should've come with you. Or at least, I shouldn't have let you all even try without my help. You're all pathetic. You need me more than you even know. You can't even make up a simple plan without needing me." Blake's loud voice echoed around their hideout.

Amphetro, Narmo, and Marcus were all staring at the floor, avoiding eye contact. The 3 of them were obviously ashamed and embarrassed about what happened. Ronaldo was glaring at Blake, his eyebrows were creased and he looked like he was either thinking very hard, or extremely mad.

Mallory, on the other hand, was smiling. She had a sinister look on her face.

"It's not like we're ever getting any of the money! It all goes to you! And what do you use it on, huh? Girls? Getting some ass? You never give us anything. We just stick around the hide out starving. And we barely have any clean OR completely intact clothes." Marcus replied, angry, his patience had worn thin.

Blake's eyes were wide in surprise. He never expected anyone, especially Marcus, to ever talk to him like that. He glared at Marcus. There was a ringing awkward silence. Marcus and Blake were staring at each other for a long time.

"Do you all agree with this?" Blake asked slowly, breaking the silence.

Amphetro, Narmo, and Ronaldo nodded their heads.

Mallory smiled happily and said, "I disagree. I feel very well taken care of."

"Of course you do!" Amphetro yelled at Mallory. "You're spoon fed everything! Blake takes care of you because your his little play toy. He doesn't care about you! It's the same as how it was with Shadow! He's just using you so that he can get money. He uses all of us."

"He is not using me." Mallory said with a defensive tone.

"Uh, yea he is. You're just too stuck up to realize it. I'm starting to envy Shadow. At least she doesn't have to put up with someone as conceited as you!" Amphetro glared at Mallory.

"You all know that you couldn't live a day without me. You all do know that Shadow has a bounty over her head? She's wanted in Varrock and Falador. Messed with Cloud's gang. She's changed her look. She's probably dead." Blake said.

Ronaldo looked as though he was going to have a panic attack. How could his sister be dead? She couldn't be... She was such a strong girl on the inside and on the outside. She was very intelligent. She couldn't be dead... It wasn't possible.

"We'll talk about this later." Blake said. He left the room and Mallory followed after him with Amphetro glaring at the back of her head.

Blake walked to his bedroom and Mallory closed the door behind her. Blake sat on his bed and Mallory sat next to him.

"Amphetro was out of line. I know that you wouldn't use me." Mallory batted her eyelashes and looked up at Blake, her hand on his leg.

Blake stared at her hand; he seemed to be concentrating hard. "Mallory, we've barely gotten any money since Shadow left."

Mallory looked surprised at his mention of Shadow. "She didn't leave, she was kicked out, remember?"

"Yea, but I'm just saying. Do you think it was a bad idea?" Blake looked into Mallory's eyes. He looked as though he genuinely wanted her opinion.

"No, I do not. If she was here, then we wouldn't be together." Mallory's hand went farther up Blake's leg.

"I wonder where she is..." He ignored her hand.

"She's probably dead." Mallory said casually. She decided to sit on Blake, her legs around his waist. She was practically demanding his attention.

"Yea, I guess so..." Blake trailed off and Mallory started kissing him. He grunted in surprise and pushed her back slightly. "What the hell are you doing?" He looked at her as if he only just realized she was sitting on his lap.

Mallory shrugged, looking slightly annoyed that he had stopped her. "I was trying to give you the attention you deserve. Didn't you like it?" She batted her eyelashes again and swayed her hips seductively.

"I'm not in the mood." He growled. He pushed her off him roughly and she tumbled on the bed beside him again with an indignant squeak.

She huffed and sat upright, smoothing any wrinkles in her clothes. "Since when aren't you in the mood for my attention?" She sniffed.

"I have a lot of things on my mind right now and besides that-"He suddenly stopped and turned to look at her. "Are you gaining weight?" He asked out of nowhere.

"NO I AM NOT!" Mallory all but shrieked into the small room, crossing her arms and not looking at Blake now.

In the other room, Amphetro and Narmo were talking quietly. Narmo was trying to calm Amphetro.

"I can't believe him, thinking that Shadow would be dead. She wouldn't be dead. She's too smart; too strong." Ronaldo was trying to convince himself that Shadow was still alive.

"I agree. She could kick anyone's butt. She would never go down without a fight. She was probably the strongest of us all. Well, in a way. She definitely had the most fighting skills and thieving skills. Maybe we should go looking for her? Ask people, follow her trail... She must've gone to Falador, if what Blake said was right." Marcus contemplated.

"Yea... Yea! That's a brilliant idea! And then once we find her we can convince her to come back!" Ronaldo said hopefully.

"Amphetro and I will come with you. We're sick of Blake and Mallory." Narmo came into their conversation.

"Great! Now we just need disguises or at least just something to cover our faces. Should we leave today or tomorrow?" Ronaldo asked, looking in the direction of Blake's room.

"We should leave later today. They'll never suspect anything. I hope." Amphetro said, beginning to look excited now.

"Good. Let's get everything ready." Ronaldo said with a wide grin spread across his face.

* * *

Shadow and Midnight were standing in front of Mazchna in his office. Shadow's mouth was slightly gaping while Midnight only had one eyebrow raised which was as close to a surprised face as she could muster.

"So…let me get this straight." Shadow started slowly. "You want US, the two who completely screwed up on their first slayer assignment together, to try AGAIN?" Shadow repeated what Mazchna had just told them in disbelief.

Shadow and Midnight had marched to Mazchna's office fully prepared to receive some kind of punishment for starting the food fight. But when they arrived, there was no tattling Madusa; instead the huge creature that Shadow had saw in this room before, Troll, was there along with the fish-person that was the first one to show Shadow any kindness, Aqua.

Now Aqua stared at her giving no sign that they had conversed before. Troll merely stared into space with his mouth hanging open.

"Just because you nearly killed yourselves once doesn't give you the excuse to never do any more assignments ever again." Mazchna answered her question. "Though mind you, you will lose some of the privileges you had, but only temporarily." His hard, yellow gaze turned to Midnight. "Midnight you are downgraded to an apprentice. Troll and Aqua will be in charge of your assignment which means you do _everything_they say."

Midnight looked on at Troll in a disgusted manner. "So we have to follow the orders of an over sized pig and a stinking fish?" Midnight's eyebrows twitched and she backed away from Aqua with part of her cloak covered over her nose.

Aqua clenched her fists while Troll continued to stare into space, a fly beginning to buzz around his open mouth now.

Mazchna glared harshly at Midnight, his eyes appearing to glow lighter. "Quiet. You should consider yourself lucky to have the privilege of attempting to prove yourself again so soon after your mishap." Mazchna stood up and towered above Midnight with his arms crossed. "Don't forget who you're talking to Soulless." His voice lowered in a deep, threatening tone. "I could kick your ass out of here anytime if I wanted to. Then where would you go?" He lowered his head until it was level with hers. "Are we clear?" He asked calmly.

She stood glaring daggers at him a few moments before spitting in his face as she answered, "Crystal."

He slowly stood back up, wiping his face with one of his giant red hands once, and turned to the many posters of monsters on the walls. "Your assignment today is to slay Bloodvelds." He pointed to one of the posters with a huge, pink creature with no eyes and a long tongue coming out of its large mouth. Shadow shuddered at the sight of it.

"Kill enough of these to stop the humans from complaining about them. I'd say about 110 of them. Keep in mind that their long tongue is their greatest weapon so whatever you do make sure you cut that off first and then they are merely large, bumbling pink blobs." Mazchna instructed them. "Once again, choose a weapon from the rack and DON'T get killed." He glared at Midnight as he said that.

He turned away, indicating that they were dismissed. Aqua nudged Troll to snap him out of his trance and they both chose a weapon from the rack. Aqua chose a Saradomin Sword while Troll chose a Granit Maul. Then they both stood by the door, waiting for Shadow and Midnight to choose their weapons.

Midnight sighed heavily and took a whip from the rack before barging past Aqua and Troll and out the door. Clearly she wasn't going to submit to anyone too easily.

Shadow shook her head and grabbed a whip for herself. She walked in front of Aqua but gave no sign that they had met once before. She only nodded and waited for Troll and Aqua to follow after Midnight. 

* * *

The whole trip Shadow had walked silently behind Aqua and Troll like she was supposed to, while Midnight walked ahead ignoring Aqua's constant orders to fall in line. Other than that not much was said. For a split second Shadow actually had begun to miss the thieving gangs. Even though they were dirty scumbags and thought of nothing but themselves and money, at least they talked to each other and befriended each other.

But Shadow knew even that much wasn't 100% true. They would only befriend each other if it benefited one another. Shadow knew that much from Blake and Cloud.

Forgetting about the gangs, she focused on the task at hand and they finally arrived inside the huge tower and passed by the chain that Midnight and Shadow had gone up last time. But when Shadow made a move to go up the chain again, a rude snap from Aqua had stopped her. How was she supposed to know there was another way up?

Now they had gone through many twists and turns in the tower until they finally reached a staircase with Banshee's eyeing them nervously nearby. Still without a word, Midnight headed up the stairs first with the cape part of her cloak flapping behind her. Troll and Aqua followed, each readying their weapons.

Shadow gulped and gripped her weapon even tighter, following them up the stairs. If these creatures were anything like the Aberrant, she would need to watch her back and stick close to the more experienced slayers.

She frowned at herself as she reached the first room of the second floor. She used to have the best fighting skills in her gang. So why was she so afraid? Had this new world she found herself in shaken her that badly?

The four slayers walked through the second room, which felt to be slightly bigger than the first. The room seemed deathly quiet and Shadow felt like something was watching her. She was glad that the three other slayers were continuing to walk, meaning whatever was in this room they weren't fighting.

They finally reached the third room which was so much smaller than the other's. Aqua and Troll stopped and looked around. For the first time in a while Aqua spoke, "Be on your guard. These things can stretch their tongues two times their sizes."

Shadow gritted her teeth and lifted her whip higher. She wouldn't mess up this time.

"Oh thank the gods! The _freaks_are here. We're all safe now!" A mocking voice suddenly spoke from the shadows, followed by a laugh from another voice.

Aqua pursed her lips and glared in the direction of the voices. "Hiding in the shadows, Xethos? I always knew you were no better than a Bloodveld."

Two humans walked out of the dark. The one that had mocked them, Xethos, held a rune crossbow in his right hand. He wore a full set of black d'hide and had short dark red hair. His brown eyes traveled over the four slayers with judgment in them.

Beside him stood a shorter guy with another rune crossbow, longer blonde hair, gray eyes, red d'hide, and a dumb look spread across his face that vaguely resembled Troll's face.

"You freaks don't even know enough to know that you don't bring melee items to Bloodvelds. Ranging works best against them." Xethos sneered advice at them. His gaze traveled over them once again until it was locked on Shadow. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze and didn't meet his eyes.

"Yeah, you freak's." The blonde laughed like a retard and slapped his knee as if what he just said was the most hilarious thing in the world.

"Shut up, Kratos." Xethos snapped at his companion, not taking his eyes off of Shadow.

"If you call me a freak one more time-"Midnight's threat was cut off as a sound that resembled nails against a chalkboard split through the room.

All the slayers covered their ears with their hands and shut their eyes tight. Finally, the sound subsided and the slayers seemed to recover.

Xethos rubbed one of his ears and yelled the question that was one everyone's mind, "What the hell was that?"

"It sounded like a Banshee…" Midnight said in her deadpan voice thoughtfully.

"Are you on something? There are no Banshee's on the second floor!" Even as Xethos said that, he looked around worriedly. Even Shadow knew that a Banshee wouldn't scream that loud unless it sensed something, something bad.

"Something's wrong…" Aqua murmured under her breath. No sooner had the words left her mouth, a loud rumbling began to shake the room and practically knock the slayers off their feet.

"Brace yourselves for anything!" Aqua snapped the order over the rumbling, raising her sword into the air.

All at once, a sudden wave of pink creatures with massively long tongues burst out of the shadows. Shadow gaped at them. They were coming by the hundreds! Her first instinct was to flee, but she stood her ground.

Before another thought could cross her mind, the Bloodvelds lunged at them all with piercing screeches. Shadow could hear a girly shriek that sounded like Xethos's voice and a loud battle cry from Troll just before she went under the wave of pink creatures.

She let out a cry of pain as the whip-like tongues made contact with her skin. She fought back frantically with her eyes partly closed. She heard explosions, grunts from the others, and scared whooping from Kratos.

Shadow managed to scramble out of the heart of the fight and whipped any advancing Bloodvelds just enough to stun them for a few seconds so she could scramble to safety and gather her bearings. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a ledge on the wall and jumped for it. She grabbed just the edge of it and attempted to pull herself onto it.

She let out a gasp as she felt something wet and whip-like grab one of her legs. She looked down and saw to her horror that one of the Bloodvelds had managed to wrap its greasy tongue around her right leg and was trying to pull her back into the fray of monsters.

"Let go of me!" She yelled at it, trying to fight against the pull of the strong creature. With her left leg, she kicked at its tongue with her heel digging hard into the wet surface of its tongue until it shrieked of pain and let her leg go.

She attempted one large push and got herself onto the ledge safely. She curled herself up to fit on it and gasped short, ragged breaths. She looked down and saw that Midnight was fighting valiantly with her whip as more and more Bloodvelds jumped onto her. Aqua and Troll were fighting side by side with Troll barreling the smaller Bloodvelds away like they were nothing.

Xethos and Kratos were up on higher ground as well. They were using their crossbows on rapid mode and were just shooting through the Bloodvelds. All the slayers clothes were torn and bloody but they didn't seem to be losing the battle...yet.

Shadow grabbed the whip in her hand and shut her eyes tight. Still breathing raggedly, she found herself wishing that her brother was here with her. But she quickly shook the thought off. She could take care of herself…she knew she could.

A sudden yell from across the room made her open her eyes again. She looked over at the direction and looked on in horror at the sight before her. Midnight was pinned against the wall by two of the Bloodvelds and her whip was somewhere under the hundreds of Bloodveld that were covering the floor.

Shadow looked back over at Aqua and Troll. They were in the heart of the monsters now and couldn't have heard the cry. Shadow turned her attention back to Midnight, who was now covered in blood…and Shadow couldn't tell if it was the Bloodvelds or her own.

Without really thinking, Shadow jumped down back into the monsters, gave herself a boost by pushing off of a Bloodveld just like she used to do with the guards, and landed right on top of Midnight's whip. She picked it up and now held a whip in each hand. She rushed straight to the Bloodvelds that were holding Midnight down and she sliced them in half with a multi-whip attack that she didn't even know was possible.

Midnight dropped to the floor in a crouch, breathing hard with her head facing the ground. Between heavy breaths she gasped, "I thought I…told you before…to stay-"

"-Out of your way. I know, I know!" Shadow finished for her in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "Are you ok?"

Midnight suddenly lifted her head and faced Shadow with a glare. "I'm fine." She snapped. But Shadow grimaced at the sight of her. Her right side of her face was completely covered with blood and her cloak was torn up and she was bleeding heavily in many other parts of her body. Shadow was amazed she could even sit up right.

Shadow glared at her. "You're not fine! You're bleeding. Come on. We'll get you to Ramankila-ah!" Shadow suddenly felt her feet being lifted from the ground and something wrapping around her body. In her surprise, she had dropped her whips though she doubted she could use them anyway as her arms were now glued to her sides by the rope-like thing around her waist.

A Bloodveld had her wrapped in its tongue and it had lifted her into the air! Shadow tried to kick and struggle her way out but this seemed impossible as the strong creature swung her back and forth with its mighty tongue. Shadow cried out but no one appeared to be trying to help. Suddenly, with one last mighty swing, the Bloodveld let go of Shadow and she flew through the air. She crashed side first through one of the large windows and broke through the glass.

Automatically she reached out to grab on something before she crashed down the 30 foot tower to her death. Shadow let out a breath of relief as she was able to grab the edge of the window from the outside. Breathing heavily, she grabbed another part of the window with her other hand. She was literally clinging on for dear life.

The worst part of it, to Shadow's horror, was it was pouring down rain. Lightning struck across the sky and Shadow barely saw that her clothes were torn and her body was cut and bleeding with pieces of glass still sticking out of her arms.

She felt her hands slipping from the soaked tower and she attempted to pull herself up inside, but with the rain and the stinging pain from the glass it was impossible. As she felt herself slipping even farther, she shut her eyes tight. She couldn't go…not like this.

But as she felt her hands completely let go of the slippery window and her body begin to fall to its death, she let go of all hope. With her arms stretched out and her eyes still shut, Shadow, for the first time in her life, gave up.

But just then, she felt a hand wrap around one of her outstretched wrists and her eyes flew open. She stopped falling and dangled on the side of the tower with just a hand to keep her from falling any more.

She looked up and another flash of lightning struck across the sky once again, lighting up the face of Midnight. She had her teeth gritted and was vainly trying to lift Shadow to safety. Shadow dangled there stunned for a few seconds before snapping herself out of it and reached out her other hand for Midnight to grab.

As Midnight tried to pull Shadow inside the tower, she let out strained grunts and Shadow knew that she couldn't do this by herself, especially with her wounds.

Shadow dug her heels into the side of the tower and with newfound strength walked along the tower, helping Midnight with her burden.

She felt her body shake with pure relief as Midnight draped one of her arms around her shoulder and helped her inside the tower.

Shadow dropped to the ground that was surprisingly lacking in monsters, and hunched over beside Midnight, who seemed to be bleeding even more heavily now. Shadow looked over at Midnight, parts of her soaked hair draped over her face.

Midnight didn't look directly at her, only stared at the ground with her hood covering her face.

Shadow tore her gaze away from her and looked around the room. There were monster bodies spread all over the floor of the room, and not one of them moving, to her amazement.

Xethos and Kratos seemed to have disappeared, Troll was looking down at the bodies with disgust, and Aqua was looking straight at her with her sword that was glowing a few moments ago dimming.

Aqua walked over to her with her head held high and glared down at her. Shadow could only just imagine how pathetic she looked with glass sticking out of her skin and blood all over her. And the worst part was most of the battle she had hid up in a ledge like the scared little girl she had become.

Aqua shook her head and called to Troll. Together, they helped Midnight and Shadow climb onto Troll's back, with Midnight complaining and fighting it the whole time, and walked out of the room.

Shadow hung her head, avoiding eye contact from anyone.

She had failed…again. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Had to cut this short due to it being past the deadline…again…but my computer got a virus over the weekend so I couldn't write, ok?

Thanks to Jessica as usual for writing the whole beginning and I'm not sure when I'll post the next chapter since next week is the camping trip.

Thank you guys so much whoever favorite my story and reviewed. Didn't make the deadline but I'm glad to see that there are still a lot of people who read my stories. You guys are awesome!

REVIEW!


	10. Punishment

Chapter 10 

* * *

Punishment 

* * *

"Is it just me, or are we spending a lot of time in here?" Shadow muttered to Midnight who was standing beside her with her hood covering most of her face.

Shadow was sure that their first priority would be to get hers and Midnight's wounds fixed by Ramankila, as even now they were still bleeding and caked in dry blood and mud, but Aqua had insisted that they report to Mazchna first. Shadow just figured she couldn't wait to see them get yelled at for their second failure.

Now Aqua, Troll, Midnight, and Shadow stood in Mazchna's office. Shadow was staring at the floor and Midnight's face was rigid, obviously with rage. Troll was staring out into space and Aqua's face was hard and her jaw was tense.

"Shadow, Midnight, you both failed once again. You both will be on dining hall duty, serving food to slayers and apprentices. This reminds me we need groceries to be picked up. Shadow, you will go in town to Canifis and buy some. I'll have the dining hall staff write up what they need." Mazchna was in a rage that they had failed a second time. But Shadow was at least grateful he wasn't yelling so much as he did last time.

Shadow still felt distraught. She had no idea how to get out of the labyrinth that was her new home. This was the second time that she had almost died since she'd been there. Only this time she was soaked, shivering, muddy, dirty, and bloody. She wanted to wash all this gunk off so bad that it hurt…of course that could be the cuts that she was sure were infected by now.

"You expect us to be allowed into a kitchen looking like we just rolled around in a dead monster?" For once Midnight's calm monotone had a little bit of a waver in it. Even though she had no soul she could apparently feel pain just as much as Shadow could. And Shadow knew that she was dealt extra pain that she wouldn't have had to endure when she saved Shadow's life. Shadow still hadn't thanked her for that, she realized…

Mazchna sighed deeply. "Very well. I see your point, Midnight. Head to Nurse Ramankila to get your wounds checked on and then wash up. I'll inform the dining hall staff of their new kitchen hands. As for you two," He turned to Aqua and Troll, "you may continue to give me your full report."

"Of course, sir. So, as I was saying…" Shadow stopped listening as she followed a limping Midnight through the office door.

Once they were outside Midnight muttered under her breath, "Kiss-ass."

Assuming she meant Aqua, Shadow laughed quietly to this. On the way while riding on Troll, Shadow was able to remove most of the pieces of glass stuck in her skin without inflicting too much more damage on her and Aqua was watching her critically.

Midnight had chopped up her arms pretty badly while she was leaning against the broken window trying to help Shadow up. Everything had gone horribly wrong. Shadow was sure that no one was prepared for hundreds upon hundreds of Bloodveld attacking them out of the darkness. What was happening to the monsters? Where were they all coming from?

Shadow's mind snapped back to reality as she heard heavy labored breathing coming from Midnight. Her limping was beginning to look more obvious and she was bleeding again.

Shadow opened her mouth to ask if she needed help but then closed it again. She wanted to help Midnight, but she would have to go a different way at it for the proud Soulless.

She had an idea after a few seconds of pondering and she suddenly coughed violently. Midnight looked back at her with a raised eyebrow and stopped beside her. Shadow hunched over and forced herself to cough harder and start wheezing.

"Need help, human?" Midnight asked her, even though she could barely stand herself. But as she asked she kept her head held high and Shadow could tell she was trying to keep the pain she was feeling from showing on her face.

"Yeah…I think the crash affected me more than I thought. Here, can you help me up?" Shadow looked up at her and used one of her many voices to speak like she was feeling terrible.

Midnight nodded and crouched down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulder. Shadow put her own arm around Midnight's shoulder as well and helped her up more than she helped her.

Together, supporting each other all the way with Shadow helping Midnight just a little bit more without her realizing it, they went through the winding tunnels to Ramankila's nursing room. 

* * *

Shadow and Midnight sat on the same table in Ramankila's nursing room. Shadow was swinging around her dangling feet like a child while Midnight stood absolutely still with her hood still covering most of her face. She was pressing a cloth against her deepest wound a long cut on her right arm, and was breathing harder than ever. Shadow was really starting to worry about her.

"Ramankila, can you hurry up with those potions?" Shadow asked the old healer impatiently. Midnight was all but dying and Ramankila was still putting one stinking potion together.

"Keep your pants on, young one." Ramankila snapped at her. "I'll have this potion ready in a jiffy. I'll have to borrow some herbs from the kitchen in order to make another one, but I still have one for your friend. So you're the famous Midnight? The same who brought Madusa to her knees?" Midnight opened her already open mouth wider to answer but Ramankila cut her off. "Don't talk child you need all the air you can get."

Midnight glared at her before looking over to Shadow in a questioning glance.

"Yeah, she does that all the time. Get used to it." Shadow answered her silent question in amusement.

Ramankila sprinkled one last herb into the bubbling potion before finally turning to them with the potion in her wrinkly hand. She handed the potion to Midnight and snapped the order, "Drink, young one."

Midnight eyed the gross looking liquid suspiciously and swooshed it around in the vial before lifting it up to her lips.

"Just a warning," Shadow stopped her awkwardly, "it tastes like dragon dung." She shivered as she remembered only that morning that she had drank the same substance.

Midnight raised an eyebrow at her before chugging down the whole vial down her throat without any further hesitation. Shadow watched in amazement as she swallowed without making any expression of disgust whatsoever.

"How the-DO YOU HAVE A STOMACH OF STEEL?" She couldn't help asking.

Ramankila chuckled softly at this and watched closely as Midnight's wounds began to close, not leaving a scar behind. "It's not the same potion, child."

Shadow glared at this before turning to Ramankila, "Question," She began, "why didn't she have to have something pressed to her wound like I did, and THEN have to drink something?"

"You had a fatal wound on your neck." Ramankila answered the muddy human in front of her as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Midnight's wounds were not fatal, the only reason she was dying was because of the massive blood loss."

"So it depends on the degree that your dying from that decides whether you get to drink dragon dung or not?"

"Now you've got the idea child. You two young ones wait here and don't move. I need to borrow some more herbs from the kitchen which, incidentally, you two are going to work there anyway, correct?" Ramankila asked them smugly. "I warned you to take it easy only today." Ramankila continued before either could answer. "See what happens when ye don't listen to old Nurse Ramankila?"

"It's not like I had much of a choice." Shadow muttered bad temporally under her breath, scowling down at her legs.

"Watch your mouth, young one." Ramankila scolded. "I don't know how ye parent's taught ya and I know it's none of my business but they could've afforded to teach you to respect your elders I'm sure." Ramankila sniffed crossly, not noticing Shadow flinch noticeably as she continued, "I'll be right back."

Without waiting any longer she went through the door with a basket in hand, shutting the door tight behind her.

Immediately, Midnight jumped down from where she was sitting. Her breathing had gone back to normal and her scars had healed, not including the ones she had already. Shadow watched as she walked over to Ramankila's supplies. She rummaged around for a few second before coming back over with a white cloth in her hand. She held it up to Shadow without a word.

Shadow frowned at it. "What's that for?" She asked her dumbly. "My wounds already stopped bleeding."

"So you're sure they won't start bleeding again when you take out the rest of that glass that's been poking me this whole time?" Midnight asked her slowly, still holding out the cloth.

Shadow looked at the still remaining glass in her arm in surprise. She had nearly forgotten they were even there. Her whole body felt numb, cold, and dirty.

Midnight rolled her eyes before sitting beside Shadow on the table again. She put the cloth on her lap and grabbed Shadow's arms with her left hand to steady it, while gripping a piece of glass in her right hand.

Shadow grimaced at this action. "Shouldn't we wait for Ramankila to do this? You know the expert? Who most likely won't kill me doing this-OW?" Shadow let out a sharp cry as Midnight plucked out the glass without hesitation. A huge stinging sensation followed and Shadow shivered as she felt a warm, sticky liquid start to cover her arm from where the glass was taken out.

Midnight quickly grabbed the cloth on her lap and pressed it firmly onto Shadow's wound. Shadow felt slightly uncomfortable and confused as she watched the Soulless focus on the cloth on Shadow's arm with no emotion on her face except determination.

"Why are you doing this?" Shadow asked her boldly. "And don't say because you feel sorry for me because I know you can't."

Midnight shrugged. "The sooner you get better the sooner we can do our 'punishment' and the sooner we go to bed."

Shadow averted her eyes from the cloth and looked at Midnight's face. She watched her movements and the veins in her forehead, but it was still impossible to tell what she was really feeling. Then she remembered her ability to read people's eyes…but would she risk it?

She looked down slightly until her gaze rested on the girl's black eyes, with the exception of the red in the center of them. She noted that the usual fire in them seemed to be lit dimly, like she had let her guard down, like she wasn't angry anymore…but Midnight seemed to always be angry.

"OW!" Shadow hissed and nearly jumped off the table in surprise. Midnight had plucked another piece of glass without warning.

"Maybe now you'll stop staring at my eyes like some sort of desperate male." Midnight growled, pressing the cloth onto both of the wounds now. "If you want to say something, then just say it."

Shadow blinked rapidly. She did want to say something. She wanted to say something to her since she saved her life on the side of the tower, even though she knew she would be putting her own life at risk.

"Why did you do it?" Shadow asked her bluntly, sitting up straighter as the stinging sensation came back. "You didn't have to save my life, but you did. You could have just let me fall to my death. Then you wouldn't have had to deal with me and my questions anymore. You could have gotten your room back to yourself. Isn't that what you wanted since I came to this place?"

With her hand still holding the cloth over Shadow's wounds, Midnight looked up. "Yes, it was what I wanted-"

"Was?" Shadow interrupted her in shock.

"-but now I'm not so sure. I've known you only for a few days and yet you know more than what most creatures that have known me for years know about me. I don't know if that's by pure nosiness or fate but that's the truth. And the worst part is you're a human. I'm…confused." Midnight blinked and sat up straighter, letting go of the cloth that was still glued to Shadow's arm.

"You know secrets about me that I've worked hard to hide." Midnight stared at the wall now. "And you're a human." She repeated. "I don't understand it."

Shadow looked away as well. "So…in your own words. Your saying I'm like a friend to you?" She dared to ask.

"I don't know…I've never had one."

Shadow whipped her head around back to her. "NEVER? You've never had a friend before?" She asked in disbelief.

Midnight looked back at her, the fire in her eyes glowing brightly again. "I said too much. There are a lot of things you know about me, true, but there are still many things you don't know. And I'd rather it stay that way. I'm going to find Ramankila." She tried to get up, but Shadow grabbed her arm with her free hand.

"Don't. I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought this up. I just wanted to say thank you…for saving my life when you could have let me fall. No one's done that for me, knowing that their risking their own life, since…since my brother and I were running together." She couldn't believe she said that.

Midnight had seemed to tense up at Shadow's touch but now seemed to be relaxing again as if she sensed that Shadow had let one of her own secrets slip. Shadow was sure that she would ask more about this so that they would at least be even with their secrets, but to her surprise Midnight spat, "I'm not interested in your own secrets. If you start to share your own past then I'll be expected to share more of mine. I'd rather keep that part of it locked up tight."

Shadow sighed deeply and rubbed her temple in frustration. "Just…forget I said anything and accept my thank you."

Midnight held her glare for a few more moments before nodding. "You are welcome. You saved my life just before, after all."

Shadow blinked as she thought about this. It was true. And she had done it before, she realized. Then just after, Midnight would save her life. It was a pattern, as if it was destined. Shadow smiled softly and looked up at the stone faced girl. "We make a pretty good team don't we?" She asked her, knowing very well to expect a scathing reply.

Midnight shut her eyes and huffed, turning away slightly. "I suppose we do…but tell anyone I said that and I'll personally throw you off that tower and not be around to catch you this time." She said in a more threatening tone.

Shadow smiled wider. She was sure that if Midnight could show any emotion she would be saying that in a teasing tone…then again you never knew with her. 

* * *

Shadow sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her freshly cleaned hair. After the exchange between Midnight and herself, Ramankila had returned with an already prepared potion and had healed Shadow's wounds. After which, Midnight and Shadow had gone to the washing room to wash off all the dried mud and blood.

Shadow had reported back to the kitchen first and was now outside of the guild on her way to the town of Canifis with a long list of supplies in one hand and a stack of money in a sack in her other hand. This will be the second time she's actually stepped foot into the odd town since she first came here.

Shadow glanced over the list again, sidestepping a tree stump while doing so. The list consisted of many disgusting items including bat blood and zombie brains. Did zombies even have brains?

Shadow still had her head buried in the list when she suddenly heard a long drawn out hiss that came from behind her. She whipped around in surprise, nearly dropping her sack of coins, and looked around the trees wildly. Nothing was there except a couple of bats and leeches.

Shadow shivered and kept walking. She remembered Mazchna's warning about vampires when she first came to the slayer guild. She had never seen one herself and she didn't intend to.

The hissing had stopped and Shadow finally saw the town looming in front of her outside the Haunted Woods. Shadow hated the name herself. But it defiantly fit the place.

Shadow sighed in relief as her boots finally felt hardened dirt instead of mushy swamp grass. She walked farther into the small town and looked around at the signs, searching for the general store. She bit her lip as she tried to read the old scratched out signs but found that this was impossible. She spotted an older woman with a cloth wrapped around her head and ran to cut her off.

"Excuse me," She began as she ran in front of the woman, who flinched in a startled manner, "can you tell me where the general store is here?"

The old woman blinked in obvious confusion before she shook her head and her eyes lit with understanding. "You must mean the inn. It triples as a bar, a store, and a place to sleep you see. It's right over there." The old lady pointed a crooked finger toward a large building to Shadow's right.

Shadow said her thanks and walked toward the building. The woman replied in a low growl but Shadow didn't seem to hear it. Shadow walked through the already open door and looked around. There were a few men sitting around in tables with beers in their hands but other than that the place was nearly empty.

A bar tender with a long, black top hat on top of his head was behind the booth cleaning out a glass beer cup. When Shadow walked over he looked up from his work. His glazed gaze immediately cleared up and he sat up straighter. "Well lookie what we have here." He said in a slightly southern accent. "What's a pretty young thing like you doing in a place like this?" The inn keeper smiled a toothy grin at her.

She resisted the urge to barf and replied in the most polite manner she could muster, "I'm looking to buy these items." She said, pushing the list toward the inn keeper. "Do you have them?"

The inn keeper took the list and looked it over for a few second before looking back at Shadow, his eyes only looking at her face every now and again. "I do have these, missy. But mind ya; I'll need the payment first." He puckered out his lips but jumped back as Shadow threw the sack of money in front of him.

He frowned. "Oh…ya have money." He said in an almost disappointed tone. "Very well, just give me a minute and I'll have your items faster than a rabbit can chase a-"

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry please?" Shadow tapped her foot impatiently. She hated this town and wanted to get out of it as soon as possible.

The inn keeper nodded curtly and turned around, sorting through his shelves of stock, glancing at the list every now and again.

Shadow crossed her arms and was shuffling her feet impatiently before she suddenly felt hot breath on the back of her head, and then a voice spoke that seemed familiar.

"I know you! You were with those _freaks"_The voice said. As soon as he mentioned the word 'freak' Shadow knew in an instant who was behind her.

Shadow turned around with her arms still crossed to see that her hunch was proven to be true. The cocky slayer that had made fun of them at the Bloodvelds, Xethos, was there with his so called friend that he pushed around, Kratos.

"What are you doing here if you don't like to be seen with 'freaks'?" Shadow addressed the arrogant slayer with her head held high.

"Truth be told, I was looking for you. You see, Kratos here didn't believe me when I told him that I thought you were a human, being that humans don't tend to hang out with those freaks." He waved a hand at his vacant-expression friend as he said his name. "So my suspicions were right, right? You're a human aren't you?"

"Congratulations, you stated the obvious. Reward yourself with a beer. You came all this way just to prove a point? How bull headed can you get?" Shadow lashed out at him. She didn't like him one bit and she wasn't making any effort not to show it.

The red haired slayer chuckled and crossed his arms, seeming to stand taller as he said, "You're even sexier when you're angry."

Shadow put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. She didn't know whether to slap this pervert or feel flattered. It had been a while since anyone made a comment about how sexy she was. Guys her own level anyway.

Xethos smiled smugly and moved closer to Shadow. He knew he had said something to his own advantage. He put his arm around her and proceeded to put his face close to hers while Kratos walked over to the bar as if nothing was happening.

"So what's a beautiful girl like you doing here anyway? Anyone with eyes could see that you don't want to be a slayer, especially not for one led by a cranky demon." Xethos's voice was now lower and seemed to echo in Shadow's ears…but she refused to fall for this guy's seducing techniques

She grabbed his arm and un winded it from around her shoulders, stepping away from the slayer. "You're wasting your time." She growled. "I'm not some random vulnerable girl in a bar just waiting for some guy to sweep her off her feet." She crossed her arms once again with her jaw clenched firmly in place.

Xethos looked around obviously and swept his arms around him in a dramatic motion. "But look where we are."

"I'm only here to pick up supplies." Shadow defended herself, looking over desperately to see if the inn keeper had gotten all her items yet.

"They're having you work as a servant girl? Is it because of the way you screwed up with the Bloodvelds?" Xethos laughed cockily. "That was what really gave it away that you were a human, by the way. Though I was surprised when you fought back again and even a little impressed…that died away when you were thrown out the window." The red haired boy in front of her recalled her embarrassment clearly as if it was permanently scorched into his mind.

She clenched her fists and shot back at him, "Well what about you? Screaming like a girl just when the Bloodvelds hit isn't very attractive you know." Shadow thanked the gods that she had recalled that.

Xethos's smile faded and he stepped back. "You can't prove that was me!" He snapped. "If you-"

"Items are ready, missy!" The inn keeper's voice boomed from behind the counter and cut off the rest of Xethos's protest.

Now it was Shadow's turn to smile smugly and she nodded curtly at Xethos. Barging past him she picked up her basket of packages and walked toward the door while saying, "I'd love to stay here and watch you make a jackass out of yourself, really, but I need to get back to my slayer guild which is what you really should be doing as well."

Shadow stopped inside the doorway and turned to look at Xethos, whose eyes were now glowing with humor and most likely lust. "I'll be looking forward to our next encounter, miss…actually I didn't catch your name."

Shadow raised an eyebrow and had half a mind not to give him her name…but she knew that would be a form of weakness if she didn't. "Shadow." She told him. "You can remember that name as 'the one who shot you down.'"

Xethos smiled wider and nodded. "Shadow…" He repeated. "I defiantly won't forget that name."

She turned around pointedly and attempted to go fully through the door before Xethos stopped her again, "Oh, and Shadow?"

Even though this was against her better judgment, Shadow turned around again to look at him. "What?"

Xethos raised an eyebrow and smiled widely while saying, "Nice ass."

Shadow raised both eyebrows in surprise and looked at her back. Fine day to forget to wear her thieving cape…

"Glad you enjoy it because this is all you'll ever get to see of it." Shadow said with an edge of authority in her voice. "Get bent." She added before walking out the door without looking back.

Xethos smiled even wider and whispered almost to himself with a slight cheery tone in his voice, "I intend to." 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

You have no idea how fun it was for me to write that scene :D

I mostly wrote the whole thing this time but still thank you Jessica for giving me plenty of ideas.

I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! I came back from the camping trip last week and was pretty wiped out and plus I had a lot of writers block. Anyway, it's here now and I promise the next chapter won't take as long.

21 REVIEWS? THANK YOU GUYS! (You're a little late but thank you :P)

REVIEW!


	11. Memories Better Left Forgotten

Chapter 11 

* * *

Memories Better Left Forgotten 

* * *

The spiky haired blonde sat on the edge of the large tower in Falador. He stared out across the bustling city through his icy blue eyes. He hadn't come up to this particular spot since…he fell off of it. Or to be exact was pushed off of it.

The incident happened well over a week ago, but he remembered it like it was only yesterday. He had to admit, he had sort of deserved it. He had acted like a complete player, and even though that was what he was, he for some reason felt slightly bad.

In fact, he felt REALLY bad. But he was a well trained thief, the leader of the thieving gang of Falador. He was trained to feel nothing, not even guilt.

But through his entire recovery from the long fall he only felt worse and worse and eventually it was overpowering. He was trying to keep his confusion and suffering hidden from the rest of the gang, but he could tell they were beginning to become suspicious of him.

He wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it, he knew. His thieving had been slipping up drastically, to which he quickly blamed that it was his knee which was injured from the fall.

He had no idea why he was feeling this way. He was completely confused and uncomfortable from the whole situation. He wished he could go back to being the kick-ass leader he was just a week ago. But ever since that girl walked into his life…

"Cloud, are you up here?" A quiet voice suddenly spoke behind him from along the ladder.

Cloud sighed quietly and shut his eyes tightly, willing her to go away. The half fairy, Melody, seemed to know better than any of the other gang that something was wrong with him. And what was worse she had been trying to get him to admit something relentlessly that he didn't even understand.

For a brief moment he considered risking taking the fall again, then grudgingly decided against it. He knew it wasn't entirely Melody's fault that she was the way she was. After all, she was only half human and thus couldn't completely comprehend a human's emotions unless it was happiness.

"Yeah, I'm up here." Cloud finally responded to the blonde half fairy's question even though in a few seconds she would be up the ladder and able to see for herself.

Melody reached the top of the ladder and slowly walked over to where Cloud sat on the edge, smoothing out the wrinkles on her light colored mini dress that she seemed to always be wearing, while doing so. "Why are you up here? Isn't it too soon?" Melody asked with genuine concern in her voice.

Cloud smiled without turning around to face her. "It's been a week, Mel." He shifted a little sideways, giving her room to sit beside him.

Melody shook her head fondly at him and swept a piece of hair that had strayed across her face behind her ear before sitting down on the edge beside him. "My point exactly. You should be resting in your bed."

"I've been resting long enough." Cloud protested. "I feel fine! I feel like I can take on the world! I feel-"

"-crappy." Melody finished a sentence for him, to Cloud's surprise. He flinched visibly and turned to look at her in shock. She very rarely said any cuss or vulgar words unless something was really bothering her.

He looked into her pretty hazel eyes in concern and asked her softly, "What's wrong, Mel? You've been acting weird all throughout my recovery."

"I'VE been acting odd?" Melody suddenly whipped around to look at him crossly, completely the opposite of her usual cheery and good-hearted self. "Cloud, your head has been UP in the clouds since the fall and I am beginning to think it is not just from the fall."

Cloud scratched his spiky haired head in confusion and frowned at her. "What else would it be?" He asked her.

Melody sighed loudly and looked out at the sky. It was becoming a pretty orange and pink color as the sun set. "I will give you a hint," She began, "you have not been acting yourself since Shadow came to our gang, and when she left you started acting like a lost puppy." She was trying to make it fairly obvious but still Cloud looked at her vacantly. He turned away from her and watched the sun go down as well.

After a few minutes of pondering, Cloud shrugged his tense shoulders. "I still don't know what you're getting at, Mel. Sorry."

Melody clenched her jaw in frustration, not liking the un-fairy like feelings of anger that were beginning to fill her now. She looked at him squarely into his pale blue eyes. He seemed determined not to look at her and Melody knew that his head may not know what she was referring to, but his heart was certain. He just hadn't listened to it for a long time…

"Cloud, you know I am one of your most loyal friends, correct?" Melody suddenly asked him. She wanted to try to get through to him SOMEHOW.

Without looking at her, Cloud nodded his head at once. "Of course I know." Even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Melody was like a little sister to Cloud. He was protective of her, always answered her questions when she let her fairy instincts cloud over her human judgment, and was always there for her.

"So as your loyal friend, may I ask you something?" She asked in her sweet voice, being careful to plan out what she was going to do.

Cloud finally turned to look at her and shrugged once again. "Sure, ok."

"I may be half human, but I am also half fairy and there are still things that confuse me about humans. Such as, how can a human that was nearly killed by another human still be in love with that said human?" Melody asked this in a completely calm voice and was sure to be very blunt with the question. She knew she was taking a chance with saying the 'L' word around Cloud, but it had to be done.

Cloud flinched so harshly that for a split second Melody was sure he would fall off of the ledge once again. But he quickly composed himself and let his eyes wander around to look at anything but the blonde haired girl in front of him. She saw a light blush begin to creep on his cheeks and he stuttered, "I-uh-I mean-what?"

Melody couldn't help but smile at this, knowing she finally got through to him. She stood up and messed around with Cloud's hair gently before saying a simple, "I will leave you alone to figure things out." With that said she walked toward the ladder and descended down it without another word.

Cloud stared out into space, trying desperately to unscramble what just happened. It was like a small explosion in his head. But as the realization began to course through him, he felt his heart thump harder and a small bead of sweat begin to form on his brow.

He watched as the sun crept the last few inches down the hill before it disappeared. Cloud shut his eyes tight and whispered under his breath, "Can it be true? Could I be in _love _with the girl that tried to kill me?" 

* * *

Shadow lied in the grass with her hands behind her head. A light breeze drifted through the clear air and stirred the leaves of the large trees that were behind her. She was lying on a large blue blanket and staring up at the midnight sky.

It was a beautiful blue color with stars dotting across it that seemed to be so close that she could just reach out and grab one.

Shadow smiled and sat up, her hair falling over her face slightly. She was on a hill with a forest behind her and a huge pasture at the bottom of the hill. It was like her dream place, the place where she went to in her mind whenever she was afraid or upset.

Shadow let the breeze whip her hair around. This was a beautiful night and her heart felt lighter than it had in days. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy, or why she was happy in the first place actually.

She suddenly felt a warm, strong hand grip her right hand and she smiled as she remembered. She turned to the figure next to her who was almost completely hidden under the shadows of the trees. But she could see the figures eyes staring warmly at her.

"You were right," Shadow began, "this place is beautiful. It's exactly like something I would see in my dreams." Shadow almost couldn't believe she was admitting this to anyone. Ordinarily, she kept to herself and only herself.

"It isn't nearly as beautiful as you." The figure finally spoke, his voice filled with love. Shadow felt her heart skip a beat as he called her 'beautiful'. Many guys had done that already, but none of them had done it without lust in their voices.

The figure leaned over and placed another hand on Shadow's cheek, stroking her face gently with his thumb. He leaned closer, his face now becoming visible from under the shadows. His icy blue eyes bore into her fiery green ones.

"Thank you for giving me a second chance, Shadow." The blonde spiky haired boy sitting in front of her said quietly. "I promise, I will never hurt you again." There was sincerity in his voice as he made the promise and Shadow couldn't help but believe him.

She blinked rapidly and opened her mouth to speak, "Cloud, I-"

"Shh." He whispered at her, placing a finger over her lips to stop her from talking.

She batted her eyelashes and her heart seemed to beat even faster as Cloud leaned even closer to her, his lips parted to meet hers and he shut his eyes.

Without really thinking, Shadow shut her own eyes and leaned over slowly as well. At this moment, nothing else seemed to matter. As far as she was concerned, the only two people in the world were Cloud and herself.

She could feel it now. Her lips and his were just inches away from each other and Shadow couldn't take it anymore. She lunged her head forward to catch him in a kiss and to feel his soft, warm lips pressed against hers just as they were on top of the tower.

…

Shadow suddenly jumped up from her bed with a gasp, clutching her heart and trying to calm her breathing. She was sweating like a pig, worse than she ever had before.

She stared at her clammy hands before wiping them over her forehead in an attempt to dry herself somehow. She looked around the room as she wiped the sweat off.

She was in her own room in the slayers guild. But…how did she get here? Wasn't she just at a-

She stopped herself as she began to grasp at reality once again. It was all a dream. The wonderful place of her dreams…the happiness she felt…Cloud…CLOUD! SHE HAD ALMOST KISSED CLOUD!

"ECH!" Shadow spat loudly out loud, rubbing her hands over her tongue as if it had actually been inside the player's mouth. She began shuddering in utter disgust. How could she have dreamed that way about someone that she couldn't stand? It didn't make any sense and she felt it was worse than the night Madusa had let her worse fears out into her mind.

As Shadow's heart rate returned to normal, she suddenly remembered that there was a clock in the room and she looked up at it. It read 7:10.

She frowned and let herself drop back to lie back down on the bed. Her head hit the pillow and she let out a deep sigh. Her new work punishment hours had left her drained. She had to get up at 7:30 and report to the kitchen with Midnight. That was a half hour earlier than she had to get up before! And for what? Messing up a mission…twice?

"Like the bastard never messed up an assignment before." Shadow growled under her breath, playing around with her caramel and red hair.

She jumped as she heard a quiet 'ahem' coming from across the room and she gulped loudly. She turned to her right without sitting up to see Midnight sitting up in her own bed with one eyebrow raised at her.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Shadow asked in a worn out voice without thinking first. This was MIDNIGHT she was talking to!

"I've been up for the past 20 minutes." Midnight answered her calmly. Shadow only now just noticed the open book in her lap.

Shadow turned away from her and shut her eyes in an effort to get 18 minutes of extra sleep. Still she couldn't help muttering to her, "Don't you ever sleep?"

When there was no answer, Shadow felt herself drifting back to sleep. A few seconds seemed to pass before Midnight spoke again.

"Did Madusa get inside your head again?"

Shadow blinked open her eyes again sleepily and looked up at the clock. It read 7:17. Didn't the Soulless ever shut up?

"No, why?" Shadow answered bluntly, annoyed at her for asking stupid questions while she was trying to get some extra sleep.

"Because you woke up with a jolt and you were covered in sweat, excuse me for assuming it was a nightmare." Midnight growled at her. "What was the nightmare about? Not that I really give a giant rat's ass."

By this time Shadow was wide awake. She found herself being put into an extremely awkward position. She could easily lie to Midnight, but what if she had some sort of weird power and was able to tell she was lying? Or she could tell her the truth and be faced with extreme humiliation over something that was completely harmless. Obviously the cause of it must have been all the leftover monkfish she had eaten last night after her shift was over.

"Uh-"Shadow began to speak, but was interrupted by a knock at their door. She rapidly sat up as none other than Mazchna entered the room looking unusually cheery.

Midnight quickly closed her book and turned to face the demon with her usual bored expression.

"Good morning ladies." The demons gaze grazed over the two girls in their beds. "I've just come to inform you both that your punishment is now over. I realize it has only been four days and I normally would have you both serve for a week but I will cut it short due to the lacking amount in slayers lately."

Shadow blinked in astonishment at him while Midnight just nodded solemnly before rising from her bed and approaching the leader of the guild. "Cut to the chase," She began, "what monsters are we going to fight and which jackasses with?"

Mazchna smirked at her. "Ah, Midnight. As blunt as ever it seems even at this early hour. Yes, I am giving you both a new mission, but for once you will do them separately."

"WHAT?" Shadow jumped up from her own bed. She couldn't even picture doing a mission without Midnight now. How could she survive fighting back disgusting monsters that wanted to kill her AND monster slayers who wanted to kill her alone?

Even Midnight seemed surprised at this. Her face was creased in a way that resembled a surprised look, but couldn't be fully due to her missing soul.

Mazchna seemed to notice their surprised expressions because he began explaining, "I couldn't help but notice, Midnight, ever since your roommate moved into here your monster slaying skills have dramatically taken a fall. So, this is an experiment to see if you two would be better off if not together. Understood?"

Shadow nodded her head slowly while Midnight just barged past Mazchna out the door, promptly heading for the washing room.

"Both of you will report to my office at precisely 8:00 after you've washed and had breakfast." Mazchna raised his voice a little louder so that Midnight would hear. At Shadow's second nod, Mazchna left the room as well.

With the door hanging open and Shadow already being fully awake, she quickly grabbed her things needed to wash up and headed out the door, closing it tightly behind her.

She took a moment to lean against it and sigh deeply, sliding down on it slightly. She was lucky that Mazchna had come when he did, otherwise Shadow could have been in a world of embarrassment. She was only just getting Midnight to like her and she really didn't want to mess that up.

After her moment of re composure, she headed down the tunnel Midnight had taken to the washing room. 

* * *

Shadow ran a steady trot through the tunnels toward Mazchna's office. He had clearly said 8:00 and it was now 8:16. Shadow had unintentionally ran the washing longer than she had planned. Her head was up in the sky thinking about her dream again, and then of the encounter with the arrogant slayer Xethos.

She had deeply hoped that after she became a slayer in this hellhole that she would escape the drama of any relationships…or whatever they had wanted. But apparently fate had it out for Shadow and she wasn't as far from civilization as she had hoped.

She hoped that she wouldn't meet Xethos again while out on her mission. She also hoped Mazchna had the good sense to get something that wouldn't kill her so she could actually make it BACK from her mission.

As soon as Shadow stepped through Mazchna's office door, the first thing she noticed was his yellow eyes were glowing more than usual and he looked angry.

Shadow gulped and shut the door behind her. At this rate she would be back in the kitchen in no time…

She looked around the room and noticed that Midnight was not in there. Obviously she had actually made it on time and had already set out. There was also the weird snake-like girl that Shadow had noticed the first time she entered into this room. What was her name again? Kola?

Beside her stood two identical purple creatures that were almost exactly alike except they were opposite sexes. Shadow assumed they were brother and sister, which set a deep pang in her heart as she thought about her own brother, but she quickly brushed it away.

The girl had long dark purple straight hair that reached down her back. She was nicely built and her clothing choice was entirely purple. Even her eyes were purple. Her eyes seemed friendly enough as they gazed at her, but Shadow could never be too sure. Her skin was almost purple, but just pale enough to not be.

Her brother was almost the same as her, only with much shorter hair and his purple eyes were darker than his sisters. Shadow noticed that they both had purple medallions around their necks with the letter 'A' on them.

"Glad you could finally join us." Mazchna finally spoke impatiently, making Shadow jump and turn to him awkwardly.

"Sorry…" She laughed nervously. "I guess I'm sort of out of it today." Shadow hoped to the gods that he wouldn't question her about her distraction.

But he didn't. "Well you better get IN to it. This mission is not to be taken lightly." He walked over to where the other three slayers were standing.

"When is it ever to be taken lightly?" Shadow sighed under her breath, turning her full attention on Mazchna now so as not to get into anymore trouble.

Gripping each slayer shoulders as he named them off, he began, "I believe you and Kola have met each other's acquaintance already. She will be in charge of the mission."

Shadow nodded at her while Kola merely stared off into the distance, being that she didn't have eyes, and flicked out her snake tongue.

"These two next to her are the twins Argon," He pointed to the boy, "and April." He then pointed to the girl who grinned widely at her name being mentioned. "They have arrived only a few days before you did."

He then moved away from them and walked to the other side of the room where the monster posters were. "Today your targets are Infernal Mages. I'm sure most of you who are more experienced with monsters know that these are very low levels compared to the monsters you usually slay, but bear in mind never to underestimate them. They are powerful beings, not physically, but mentally."

Shadow frowned as she looked at the picture of an Infernal Mage. It looked like a regular wizard with light colored clothes on. What was so special about it?

"You seem puzzled Shadow." Mazchna suddenly said, watching her as she squinted at the picture.

"They look like regular wizards to me." Shadow told him without taking her eyes off the picture as she looked for anything to make it seem special. A weapon maybe?

"Everyone says that at first, but these certain creatures have a special power that earns them a spot on my monster list. They can get inside your mind."

At this sudden fact, Shadow snapped her gaze away from the picture and turned to look at the demon in surprise. At the corner of her eye she noticed April shivering slightly and Argon puffing out his chest.

"In more explained detail", Mazchna continued, "they can literally use a power to get inside your mind. They will crawl into the deepest pits where your darkest memories and secrets are held. Then they will drag them to the open and taunt you with them. They can even access memories that you were sure you dumped a long time ago. Needless to say, their special power is merely words. Sadly to say, it is also your greatest weakness."

"What if you're not afraid of anything?" Argon suddenly spoke, his voice sounding dark and buff.

"Or don't have any dark memoriessss?" Kola hissed through her tongue, waving it around as she spoke.

Mazchna frowned at them before taking a step forward. "There is no living creature in this world that has no fear or no memory that they despise." He told them darkly. "Even the Corporeal Beast itself has fear."

At this, the two slayers hung their head as to not meet the guild leaders eyes. April shivered with fright as if the mere thought of the beast terrified her and she edged closer to her brother.

"So how do you expect us to kill something that tears us up from the inside out?" Shadow asked him, trying to keep her own fear out of her voice.

Mazchna's eyes, that had seemed to glow redder as he mentioned the beast's name, turned back to its yellow color as he turned back to her. "I picked you four to go on this mission for a reason. I have looked into each of your pasts and I am confident to say that each of you has faced hardships in some way that a normal creature would not be able to handle. To be blunt, you are all tough and sane minded. You will need these qualities in order to kill these monsters."

"Sssso you're ssssaying we can fight back withhh our mindsssss?" Kola hissed at Mazchna, seeming to understand more than Shadow at the moment.

Mazchna nodded at her. "You seem to understand quite well. Remember in this situation: wit over brute force." He eyed Argon sternly as he said this. Shadow had already guessed he's the tough type that won't take crap from anyone.

"As usual," Mazchna continued, "grab your weapons and make your way to the Slayer Tower. Kola, if anyone slacks off, you are to report straight to me." Mazchna was staring at Shadow as he said this and she couldn't help but gulp under his gaze. Why did he just have to assume that she was a disaster waiting to happen just because she was thrown out a window and nearly fell to her death ONCE?

"Of courssssse ssssssir." Kola nodded to the guild leader, swishing her short light orange hair around as she did so. She walked over to the weapon rack and chose a crossbow and bolts along with a whip.

Following her lead, the twins chose the same weapons and followed her out the office door. Shadow looked over the weapon rack before choosing two whips, one for each hand since it worked so well before…and she wasn't that good with range items. She only used them when in dire need.

With the whips in her hands, she turned to go after her group, but was stopped by a firm 'ahem' behind her. She turned around to see Mazchna looming over her, his arms crossed and his eyes had that 'no nonsense' look about them.

"I know what you are going to say and I won't mess up this time. I promise." Shadow spoke before he could, hoping the green fire in her eyes that she once had a mere week ago was there as she said this.

He sighed and ran a red paw across his red forehead. "You really shouldn't make promises you can't keep. Your last two missions have been complete disasters. What makes you so sure that you can beat a creature that gets inside your mind, given your past?"

Shadow covered her hands across her chest, suddenly feeling very naked under the eyes of the demon. "Exactly how much of my past did you see?" She asked him carefully.

He looked at her steadily, without blinking. "I saw enough." He only said before turning away from her, a sign that she was dismissed.

Shadow stood glued to the spot for a few seconds before turning around and standing in the doorway. She grabbed the doorknob to close the door, but stopped herself.

"It wasn't our fault you know." She said simply before closing the door quietly before the demon could reply. 

* * *

"So what are your powers?" Shadow asked the three slayers as she walked along beside them.

She was surprised when she found the three of them waiting patiently for her at the ladder that entered above ground and into the woods. They didn't even say anything to her about it, only walked along beside her silently.

And that was how it stayed almost the whole trip: silent. Now they had just entered the tower and finally Shadow couldn't take the silence anymore, so she boldly asked the innocent question.

"I can transssssform into a real sssssnake." Kola answered at once, holding her head high and flicking her tongue into the air proudly.

Shadow stared wide eyed at her. "Are you poisonous or a constrictor?" She asked the snake-girl, just glad she didn't get an irritable snap as a reply.

"Bothhhh." Kola replied smugly. "I am alsssso quicker than mossssst ssssssnakessssss."

Shadow wanted to see her turn into a snake, but figured she would when they fought the Mages. "What about you two?" Shadow asked the twins curiously.

"None of your freaking business." Argon growled at her rudely, walking ahead of them as if he was the leader.

"Sorry about him." April apologized to her quickly. "He's really nice when you get to know him. He just has a…grudge against humans." April talked happily to Shadow. She was almost frozen with shock as the creature in front of her talked so freely to her…it was almost like talking to another human.

Shadow scoffed. "What creature doesn't in this guild? I'm Shadow by the way." She introduced herself to the purple girl.

"I'm April." She said happily even though Shadow already knew this. "My brother and I have combined powers. We access them through these." She held up the medallion around her neck with the 'A' on it. It glowed as she touched it and Shadow blinked in wonder at it.

"We also have to stay close to each other at all times, "April continued as she put down the medallion, "otherwise if we are too far away, we die." Shadow couldn't believe that she was saying her and her brothers' weaknesses so freely to a stranger.

"Why is that?" Shadow asked her, wanting to know more now as they winded through the tunnels in the tower. Kola had gone on ahead to most likely scold the younger Argon about rushing ahead when not told to.

"My brother and I were born in Catherby, "April began her life story, "when we were born the humans around the town were afraid of us because we looked so different. As we got older we began to use stranger powers and we sort of…blew up some of the town." April laughed nervously.

"Via the medallions?" Shadow asked her, looking at the 'A' swinging around her neck. It was hard to believe such a little piece of jewelry could blow up half a town.

April nodded. "Our mother and father gave us them when we were babies. They died when we were level 2's by white wolves attacking them. We lived right next to White Wolf Mountain. The people in Catherby took care of us after that. Anyway, after the disaster we caused the townspeople were even more afraid of us and separated us. I was brought to Falador and my brother stayed at Catherby."

"They SEPARATED you both?" Shadow shivered at this thought, for a split second thinking how lucky she was to have had her brother for as long as she did…before he betrayed her.

April nodded again as she continued. "After a day being separated from each other, my brother and I became very sick. The doctors from the city and town tried to figure out what was wrong but could not, but my brother did. I stayed in bed for days slowly dying while my brother snuck away from Catherby and climbed White Wolf Mountain, finally arriving in Falador. As soon as he stepped into the city we both suddenly felt better. By the time he found me, we were both cured. When we heard of the slayer guilds we went to Taverly first and talked to the slayer master there. He taught us how to keep our powers in check before sending us here where we would be safe and not be judged."

Shadow had listened to the story intently, almost walking into a wall she was so caught up in it. They were going up the stairs now and Shadow studied April's face while being careful not to trip on the old stairs. She was awed not only by the story, but by the fact that April hadn't stop smiling throughout the whole story, apart from a small split second frown when she recalled her parent's death's.

"I'm sorry…" Shadow finally said, not sure what else to say. "It sounds like you had a hard past." She trailed off and stopped walking, staring at the ground. They were at the top of the stairs and monsters growls came from all around her, but she barely heard them as faint memories that she had tried so hard to push away began swimming into clearer vision at an alarming speed.

But at that same moment, April stopped beside her and pushed her chin up to face her. April smiled softly at her, something that Shadow hadn't seen since…she couldn't remember when. "Hey, the past is the past right?" April asked her in a cheery tone. "What matters now is to make your future the best it can be. After all, you can't control what happened in the past, but you can control your future."

The purple girls' words seemed to strike Shadow like a knife. She watched April walk away from her, picking up the pace as she rounded the corner. Shadow blinked slowly before taking a huge breath. Forgetting all about her memories that were trying to break out, she ran after the girl. She just had to focus on the mission right now.

Nearly slamming into Kola as she rounded the corner, she skidded to a halt and grabbed the wall to steady herself. "Why the hell did we stop?" She snapped at them without thinking, quickly biting her tongue as Argon turned around to glare at her.

"We're here, idiot human." He snapped at her, sweeping one hand around the room as he said this. The room was big, but not huge. It was almost completely dark, as there were no windows…to fall out of.

"THIS room?" Shadow asked in disbelief. Thoughts came running through her head of the day she had fought the Bloodvelds. They had passed this room to get to them. She remembered feeling a shiver go up her spine as she felt something was watching her, something very dark. She quickly took back any previous thoughts that she had had about these things not being a challenge.

"Is that a problem?" Argon asked her smugly, taking a step toward her with a gleam in his eye. "Scared already?"

Shadow gulped and held her head high, puffing out her chest to mimic Argon as she responded, "Of course not!"

Seeming to know she was making fun of him, he shot her a deadly glare before spitting on the floor not mere inches away from her feet and pointedly turning his back on her.

She let go of the air she was holding in and swept a hand across her forehead. "Is there any chance you were switched at birth and Midnight's really your sister?" Shadow muttered under her breath just quiet enough for Argon not to hear her.

"Enough fooling around." Kola hissed at them. "Ready your weaponssss for when they come." Saying this, Kola coiled her whip around her one arm and readied the crossbow with her other.

The twins followed her lead and did the same. Shadow noticed they were keeping close together and both had one hand over their medallions. They shared a glance before going on either side of Kola as she walked farther into the room.

"Remember what Mazzzzchna sssssaid," Kola began in a whispering hiss, "if they get insssside your mind, get them out withhh all your willpower." Kola instructed them, swishing around at any sudden noise.

Shadow followed them closely behind, gripping her whips tightly. A strand of hair passed over her line of vision and she blew it aside, for a second wishing she still had those hair bands. She wasn't really used to having her hair just lie flat like it was.

Finally fixing her slight distraction, she focused again on the mission at hand, but was shocked to find that she was alone. The other three slayers were nowhere to be seen in the dimly lit darkness she found herself in.

Shadow gulped and turned around in all directions, looking for a hiss from the snake girl or the irritable grunt from Argon. "Guys?" She called out loud. When there was no answer, she began to walk around more, peering through the darkness the best she could, which at this moment seemed impossible.

She gripped her whips even tighter in her hands, beginning to breath harder now as the darkness started to close in on her and nearly choked her.

All at once, she just started running. She didn't know where and at this moment she didn't really care, she just needed to find some sort of light. But it seemed every which way she ran she either nearly crashed into a wall hidden by the darkness or just went on and on through the room.

She was just running straight now, just running and running and not stopping. The room seemed to be going on forever. How big was it!

"KOLA! APRIL! ARGON!" Shadow screamed into the darkness, beginning to sweat bullets. Her heart was pounding so hard that she was sure that the noise was filling the whole room.

Suddenly, Shadow heard a whispery laugh coming from behind her and she came to an abrupt stop. The laugh sent daggers up her spine and she gulped loudly. It seemed so evil…so demonic…

Shadow gripped the whips even tighter now, beginning to feel pain as the wood began to splinter into her hands, but she was too numb with fear to really care.

Without any hesitation, knowing if she hesitated she would be too afraid, she spun around and raised her whips into the air.

But nothing was there…

Confused now, she looked around, starting to back away as she looked around. But as she backed away, she suddenly walked right into something that felt like curtains. She froze and reached behind her without turning around, feeling the soft item. It felt just like cotton…

It felt slightly familiar…

Shadow slowly turned around, fully prepared to come face to face with a Mage and whip it across the face…but it was something far from that.

Shadow let out a cut off gasp, immediately dropping both her whips and staggering back as if she had just gotten a knife thrust straight through her heart. Her mouth was wide open and her green eyes flicked over the figure in front of her, threatening to spill tears.

In front of her was a woman that was almost the exact replica of Shadow. She had midnight black hair that reached down well past her shoulders, piecing green eyes, and a sparkling smile that would put to shame any diamond in Runescape. She wore a long white dress and, as Shadow had observed, it was made out of cotton.

"M-mother…" Shadow choked out, staggering back further away. "H-how is this possible? Y-you are…" Shadow trailed off, walking back farther and farther away from the figure in front of her. All of her senses disappeared, she felt as if her very brain just exploded.

The woman in front of her moved toward her in a swaying motion. Her smile had left her face and as she reached out a hand for Shadow's face, Shadow noticed to her horror it was wrinkly and gray.

Shadow tried to duck away from the grip, but the woman was faster than she and gripped a side of her face. She tightened her grip fiercely and Shadow felt herself beginning to go limp.

"Why did you kill me?" The woman spoke in a voice filled with such anger and sorrow it made Shadow feel sick to her stomach. "WHY?" The woman shrieked, her face cracking with so much pain. "Didn't you love me…?"

Shadow's eyes were as wide as plates and she could barely speak, but she still managed to gurgle out, "I…I…"

"WHY DID YOU KILL ME YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING PIECE OF CRAP." The woman's voice suddenly wailed with the anger of a thousand demons and her fingernails pierced into Shadow's flesh, making her jump back with a yell of pain.

Shadow placed a hand over the side of her face the woman had sunk her claws into. She felt warm blood begin to seep from it and she breathed raggedly. This was a nightmare…a pure nightmare.

The woman stepped forward to grab Shadow again, but just then her form suddenly began to melt, turning into liquid to Shadow's pure horror. She watched in fear as the woman sunk to the floor in a sludgy mess, holding out her hand to her until that too turned to liquid.

Fighting to break the spell she was under, Shadow attempted to reclaim her senses and grabbed her two whips that she had dropped, stepping over the mess as she did so. She had no idea what was going on, but she wanted it to stop NOW.

Shadow continued to run into blackness, trying her hardest to get out the Infernal Mage that she knew by now was in her head. Willpower is the key, she remembered. If only she knew how to use it…

Shadow didn't stop running for what seemed like hours in a never-ending tunnel of darkness. She was sure she was going to die in here, eaten alive by her own memories and mind. Everything else has turned against her, it was only a matter of time before her own brain joined them, she figured.

All of a sudden, she saw it. A light! Thank the gods! A small, but bright light shone a long way in front of her. That must be the exit, what else would it be? It had to be her escape back to sanity!

Blood was streaming down the side of her face now at an alarming rate, but she ignored it. She could worry about it after she got out of this hellhole. The light was getting bigger and bigger as she continued to run toward it, using all her strength in her legs to thrust herself forward as if a pack of wolves were chasing her.

Finally the light became overwhelming and she jumped through it, closing her eyes as she did a forward roll and hit the hard dirt beneath her.

Wait…dirt? Shadow opened her eyes slowly and looked around. This wasn't the Slayer Tower…

Shadow stumbled to stand up as she got a good look of her new surroundings. She was right next to a farm, vegetables growing beside where she had landed and a fence across from her, holding a few baaing sheep inside of it as they chewed on grass.

Shadow tripped over to the fence and held on to it as she stood up straighter, clutching the bloody side of her face as she did this. She felt dizzy and confused. Why was she at a farm? She knew she was still inside her mind, but what was so terrifying about a farm?

She stiffened as she heard a sudden faint cry in the wind, actually quite a few cries. Shadow frowned and slowly let go of the fence, making sure she was steady before walking toward the sound of the cries.

A large city suddenly loomed in front of her as she left the fence and sheep behind and passed by a little farm house. She stopped to look at it and blinked slowly. It seem oddly familiar to her, but she didn't have time to really dig deep in her mind as the cries grew louder and more fierce sounding. They were coming from inside the city.

"I must be crazy to be doing this…" Shadow murmured under her breath as she continued to walk toward the growing yells. She passed by huge houses and a church with a graveyard inside of it and ivy growing on the side.

"I know this place." Shadow spoke once again out loud. Everything seemed so unreal, a long forgotten memory.

Shadow's heels clicked the stone pathway beneath her as she kept walking toward the sound of a hundred or so angry people yelling inaudible words. She shivered as she recognized venomous hatred in their yells.

Finally the screams were as loud as thunder and Shadow stepped around another building to find herself in what looked to be the middle of the city. Signs were nailed to small tables with different items on them. Some had gems, some had spices, and some had breads and cakes. Yet more familiarity…

From the other side of the little city square, a crowd of angry people were shaking their fists and yelling all together at something Shadow could not see, as they had surrounded whatever it was.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, she let her feet move numbly toward the scene. She blocked out the screams and yells the best she could as she cut through the crowd like a knife cuts through a creamy cake.

"Leave our city!" A man yelled as she passed by him.

"We don't want you here, you dirty thieves!" Another cried.

"But they're just children! Surely they don't know any better." A woman seemed to be trying to reason with them, but her reasoning was lost in the yelling's of protest.

"I say we get the guards to run 'em out of here!" A loud booming voice spoke over everyone followed by a series of 'Yeah's!'.

Shadow couldn't take it anymore, she shoved aside one more man and emerged in front of the crowd only to stop dead in her tracks and feel her face go completely pale as she began to shake uncontrollably.

In front of her were a little boy and girl, the girl looking to be a level 3 and the boy a level 4. The girl was pressed against the wall of a house. In her hands were a few gems, mostly rubies and emeralds.

The boy stood in front of her, his face scowling and his brown gaze challenging anyone to step any closer to him or the terrified looking girl behind him.

But really caught Shadow's eye was the eyes of the little level 3 holding the gems. They were bright green. The brightest green she ever saw in her life.

Just like hers.

The girls black hair was wrapped up into two spiky pigtails on the top of her head. She was dressed in torn clothes and she looked like she hadn't eaten in days. Her eyes were filled with an unimaginable pain as her head darted back and forth to the angry crowd surrounding her.

The boy didn't look that great either. His clothes also torn and he had mud and dirt across his face and where there wasn't dirt, there were cuts and bruises. His black hair was messy and clearly unkempt.

Shadow's head began throbbing and she clutched it in agony as the crowd continued its jeers.

"Get out of our city, street rats!"

"We don't want you here, _MURDERERS!_"

"Guards! Kill them before they steal any more of my precious jewels!"

"WE WERE JUST HUNGRY!" The girl cried over the yells, tears streaming down her face now.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TELL YOU PEOPLE? WE DIDN'T KILL THEM! WE WERE FRAMED!" The boy screamed at the people, throwing a rock blindly into the crowd. His face seemed all way too familiar to Shadow and her heart ached along with her head.

The man with the loud booming voice snorted, "Yeah…I'm sure you were. Just like those gems magically fell into your grubby little hands, eh? And since when can you EAT jewels?" The rest of the crowd bellowed in agreement.

"WE DIDN'T KILL MOMMY AND DADDY!" The girl shrieked into the air, crying harder and turning around to face the wall, shielding her face away from the accusing stares from the mob.

"I say, WE RUN THEM OUT OF THE CITY NOW!" A guard beside Shadow spoke this time and she knew at that moment all hope was lost if even the guards didn't believe the two's story.

"Run them out? HA! I say we kill the little thieves and murderer's before they strike again on another town." Someone from the crowd called, receiving more cries of agreement.

By this time, Shadow had shrunk to the ground as the scene went on, clutching her head as if it was the only thing keeping her from fainting at this horrible cruelty.

But suddenly, she heard the boy whisper to the girl something she was sure no one else could hear, "On my signal drop the gems and RUN. Run like you've never run before in any direction and HIDE. I'll distract the guards."

Shadow looked up in time to see the girl shaking her head violently as she continued to face the wall. Shadow felt a strong explosion in her head and before she knew what she was doing, she starting copying everything the girl said next in a low whisper, word for word at the exact same time she said it.

"No Ronaldo," both of the girls whispered in the same manner, "we're in this together, just like you promised. I won't leave you."

The boy stared at her with one eye on the crowd and opened his mouth as if about to protest, but then closed it and nodded solemnly. "Together then." He whispered back to her, clutching his fists until they turned pale blue.

The guards crept toward the two figures with spears and swords pointing toward them and not one light of mercy in their eyes. The crowd cheered them on in mockery. Shadow's gaze widened in horror as one of the guards lunged for the boy with outstretched arms.

"NOW SHADOW!" The boy yelled, at the same moment jumping up and off the head of the guard as his face met ground. The boy jumped back toward and grabbed the girl's hand as she dropped the gems on the ground and ran like lightning beside the boy and through one of the paths that led to the outside world.

One of the guards yelled, "DON'T JUST SIT THERE! GET THEM AND KILL THEM! YOU MAY NOT REST UNTIL THEIR BLOOD IS ON YOUR SWORDS. GO ACROSS RUNESCAPE IF YOU HAVE TO! WARN OTHER TOWNS AND CITIES THAT TWO THIEVES AND MURDERER'S ARE ON THE LOOSE."

The guards took off after the two, the crowd following more slowly behind as they cheered them on.

Shadow, still on her knees and clutching her head, was alone now apart for one woman behind her. Shadow's eyes were watery and she fought to hold back tears as the memory went on and on inside her head. The same memory she had tried so hard to lock away…it was out.

And she had just relived it.

The woman behind her suddenly walked over to stand beside her. She was a beautiful red haired woman with a red and white dress and a hood covering some of her face. Tears were falling down from her face and she bowed her head. "I'm so sorry Jade…" She whispered under her choked up breath. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect your children better."

Shadow watched the woman through misty eyes, only now noticing her clothes were also ripped and she looked as if she'd been beaten.

Shadow blinked as she remembered more of who she was. She was her mother's best friend…and had fought for her brother and herself time and time again, her bruises proving it. Though in the end she was under house arrest and beaten up for protecting murderer's. She must have gotten out when the guards were all called to chase them out…

Shadow watched as the woman began to fade away into haze, along with the rest of the city around her. Shadow swallowed back the sob that was threatening to cry out and hung her head as darkness took over around her once again.

"Aw, what's the matter, child?" A soft, hissing voice suddenly spoke around her and she looked up in surprise. She clung to the whips and stood up; her throbbing pain in her head disappeared and replaced with a laughing voice.

"Wasn't the memory a good one for you?" The whispery voice asked in a sarcastic tone. "I figured you missed it. After all, it was locked away deep in your mind."

Shadow growled loudly, her pain, sorrow, and fear forgotten. "SHOW YOURSELF INFERNAL MAGE." She screamed into the echoing darkness.

"Why don't you go running to your mommy and daddy and tell them about your nightmare? Oh wait, silly me, I must have forgotten…" A figure suddenly fazed in front of her, brightening the darkness. The figure wore light colored robes and looked just like a wizard…just like the picture.

"You killed your mommy and daddy." The Infernal Mage finished its mocking thought, smiling a very evil and devilish looking smile.

Something inside Shadow just snapped and she ran toward the Mage with whips drawn back to strike. She screeched a battle cry into the darkness and let loose the whips.

Just before they struck, the Mage disappeared and the whips touched air, failing down to the ground limply.

Shadow breathed hard, rage pouring off of her in merciless waves.

"Can't hit me if you can't see me, can you murderer?" The invisible Mage mocked her. Shadow suddenly felt a cold rush of air and before she knew what was happening she was thrown into the air and rolled to the ground with a sickening thud.

Shadow grunted and tried to stand back up, but was once again knocked across the darkness and back onto the ground.

"It's not very ladylike to attack creatures." The Mage laughed. "What would your dead mother think?"

The same think that snapped inside Shadow all together broke completely at this. She shut her eyes and focused on the space around her. She felt a cold blast of energy surround on the left side of her, getting ready to strike again when she got up.

She snapped her eyes open again and smiled a cocky smile, one that she hadn't used since she left the gang.

"This is MY mind," Shadow began as she jumped up and veered to the right at a quick pace, feeling a tinge of surprise coming from the invisible Mage as it attacked thin air. It struck again and again, each time missing as Shadow began to see it more and more a little at a time with her own eyes, using her mind.

Able to see its face now, Shadow dodged its strike one more time and lifted her whips, bringing them down straight on the Mages face and slicing it in half as it let out a cry of pain.

", and YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED HERE!" Shadow finished as the bloody Mage feel to the ground dead in front of her. It suddenly swept up in a ball of light and the light surrounded Shadow, so bright that she had to shut her eyes.

…

When she opened them again, she found that she was lying on the ground…and there were TORCHES lighting the dimly lit area around her.

She was back in the Slayer Tower.

Around her stood Kola, April, and Argon standing over her each with a worried look, minus Argon who just looked annoyed.

April let out a happy gasp as she saw her blink open her eyes. "She's awake! She's alive!" She began jumping up and down clapping while Kola crouched down beside Shadow.

"Are you ok?" She hissed at Shadow, helping her sit up. "We ffffound you lying on the ground hhhere and were afffraid a Mage got you."

Argon rolled his eyes. "The dumb human was probably sleeping on the job while we were doing all the work. We killed 67 Mages no thanks to you. And if you-"

"Shut up." Shadow suddenly said calmly, rubbing a hand over the side of her face and looking at it. No blood. It was all in her mind after all.

Argon blinked down in astonishment at her. "What the hell did you just say?" He snarled at Shadow.

Shadow slowly stood up and faced the purple creature, Kola and April standing back to give her room. She brushed off her clothes before putting her face inches away from Argon's. "I said 'shut up'. I'm getting sick of your superior attitude. Just because a couple of humans treated you like crap doesn't mean that I'll act the same and for your information I was attacked by a Mage and it got inside my head and I spent what feels like days going through unpleasant memories until I finally killed it so don't you dare say I didn't do my part, because this particular Mage made me feel like I faced a hundred Mages. So GET OUT OF MY FACE." Shadow finished as she hissed into Argon's face.

By now, he didn't look so superior and he looked away, backing away from her.

Shadow blinked in surprise at herself. She turned around to look at Kola and April who were also staring at her with something different than they had before. Fear, maybe?

But when Kola finally slowly nodded at her, Shadow knew exactly what it was.

Respect.

She had gotten her attitude from when she was a thief back. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Um…wow…I just have one thing to say…

IT'S OVER 9000!

YES I'VE DONE IT! MY LONGEST CHAPTER EVER AND IT'S OVER 9000 WORDS!

I'm so sorry it took so long but at least I gave you an extremely long chapter to make up for it.

REVIEW!


	12. Changing

Chapter 12 

* * *

Changing 

* * *

Shadow was back to her former ways.

The Infernal Mage she had gone up against had showed her the things she tried to hide away and forget about. She wanted keep those memories away from people…and herself, to hide her past.

When she saw the memories it had reminded her why she was at the Slayer's Guild and why she was still alive. The past is what had shaped her for Blake's gang, for Mazchna's guild, for dealing with Cloud, for her hard skin, for the life she has now.

She may be on the run from guards from Varrock and Falador and most likely the rest of Runescape and she may risk her life constantly for the guild. But she was surviving.

Shadow thought, only briefly, that maybe Midnight admired her, only because Shadow could still be at the guild, even with practically everyone hating her. Of course, Midnight didn't know much about Shadow's past, but she still could admire Shadow for getting through the first few weeks.

But, then again, Shadow didn't know Midnight well. Plus, her judgment about people had been off for a week or two... or more. First Blake, apparently Ronaldo too, and Cloud.

Shadow lay awake in her bed thinking to herself. She knew she needed to go to sleep but she couldn't stop thinking about things.

When she, Argon, April, and Kola had returned to give Mazchna their report, Kola had hissed plenty of praise about her, with April nodding along with enthusiasm and Argon merely grumbling to himself while staying as far away from Shadow as he could.

Mazchna had listened throughout the whole report with quiet interest, only nodding every now and again. When the four slayers had moved to leave, Mazchna had called Shadow to stay behind for a moment.

They had talked for a while, but about nothing really in particular. Shadow could tell Mazchna had been trying to get her to explain in more detail what had happened in her mind with the Mage, but Shadow had given away nothing. Why should Mazchna know everything that goes on inside her mind? Didn't he trust her or something?

Shadow smiled to herself and sank deeper into her pillow. Apparently no human that ever got a Mage that deep into its mind survived before, or that was at least what April had told her. They either were killed by the Mage…or their own horrifying memories.

Shadow sat up in the bed and hunched over as she remembered something she had discovered when they were on their way back to the guild. She had recalled what the little farm and farmhouse had to do with anything.

It was her birthplace, where she grew up at with her family…when they were a family. She wished she could remember more about that little farmhouse.

She gripped the sides of her head and shut her eyes tight, for once in her life straining to uncover forgotten memories.

With no memory magically popping into her head and her body now fully functioning and wide awake, Shadow gave up and propped herself up onto the side of the bed. She slipped on her high heeled boots and walked over to the door, using only familiarity of the room to guide her through the dense blackness.

When Shadow finally felt the doorknob between her palm she gripped it and slowly opened it, not flinching at the eerie sound it made as it creaked open. With more light inside the room from the torches outside, Shadow peeked over her shoulder to see if Midnight was awake.

She only saw a lump under the covers and the subtle rise and fall of it as Midnight slept.

Without hesitating anymore Shadow plunged into the dirt hallway outside and shut the door tightly behind her. She looked around and blinked. Even though the underground guild never got that much light in the daytime, it seemed even darker at night with almost a haunting atmosphere.

Shadow clenched her fists and walked on. She had no idea why she was doing this. She didn't have any particular destination in mind, she just wanted to walk. Plus she'd never been outside her room after lights out before.

The dirt hallways were lit dimly by the occasional torch on the walls. The doors leading to other rooms were shut tight and Shadow could hear loud snoring coming from the other sides. It appeared that everyone was asleep. Of course they were why wouldn't they be? It was lights out!

Shadow continued walking through the hallways, making random twist and turns, not really keeping track of where she was or where she was going. As far as right now went Shadow felt as though she could take on the world.

Shadow came to a halt as a large figure loomed over her. She had managed to navigate her way right to where the gate was, the entrance and the exit to the guild. She figured she was getting more accustomed to this world than she had thought if she was able to find her way through the tunnels without trying.

In the corner of her eye she suddenly saw a shadow moving and right after heard a sound like dirt was being moved, like someone was moving around behind her. Shadow clenched her fists and tensed her muscles, but still remaining motionless as if she hadn't noticed there was someone in the hallway with her.

She let her thieving skills take over and listened with her sense of touch. She could feel the ground underneath her feet beginning to rumble slightly, more and more as if someone were creeping up on her. All at once the rumbling disappeared all together and Shadow felt a slight wind.

Without thinking Shadow suddenly crouched down and did a forward roll just as something large and screeching at the top of its lungs sailed over her with outstretched arms. Shadow jumped back to her feet and turned to face her attacker, having gotten the dagger out of her pants that she always kept with her and thrusting it in front of her. The sharp tip gleamed in the torches light.

Her attacker's back was turned to her, but Shadow knew who it was without them needing to turn around. The long purple hair and the claw like nails were a dead giveaway.

"What are you doing here Madusa?" Shadow challenged the demon girl, not lowering her dagger for one second.

Madusa turned around to face her and Shadow had to keep herself from flinching. The girl's purple eyes looked wild, her hair was sprayed out in all directions, and she was breathing heavily. She'd gone completely mad!

"You deserve to die." Madusa growled in a dry, rasping voice. "I should have killed you when I had the chance. Humans don't belong here. It has been that way for centuries. Creatures come here to get away from humans and now you're becoming ONE of us. You must die." Madusa bared her shark like teeth and took a menacing step toward Shadow.

Shadow stood her ground, not moving an inch. She stared steadily back at the wild purple eyes and stifled a laugh. "You're threatened by me aren't you?" She asked her calmly.

For a second Shadow was sure she saw a flash of surprise in Madusa's eyes, but the demon girl quickly covered it up. "If you are trying to save your own pitiful life, don't bother. I am NOT going to spare you this time."

Instead of backing off, Shadow took a step toward Madusa, lowering her dagger a little. "I'm not afraid of you anymore, demon." Shadow growled at her, knowing that what she said was true. "I'm not the same shivering human that had to be saved by Midnight you attacked before. I remember who I am now." Shadow put the dagger back into her pants and walked until she was a few feet away from Madusa, who looked like she was having a twitch attack.

"I'm Shadow, ex-thief of Varrock and best thief in all of Runescape. I have learned to do things you've never heard of and seen things that you can't imagine. You don't own me anymore." Shadow added in a whisper in a harsh snarl before whipping around and turning back to the gate. She felt like she really needed some air right now, even if it was murky and unclean.

"NOBODY TURNS AWAY FROM ME!" Shadow suddenly felt Madusa slam into her from behind before she could make a move to get out of the way. Madusa pressed Shadow against the gate and she felt her claws gripping tight into her sides like knives.

"Get the hell off of me!" Shadow managed to growl out even though her face was pressed against stone. She quickly elbowed one of Madusa's arms and kicked one of her legs, knocking the demon girl off balance. As Madusa tried to regain balance she threw out one of her arms to grab her opponent, but Shadow twirled out of the way and made a small jump, throwing out her leg and kicking Madusa squarely in her face with her heel spiked out.

Madusa hit the ground with a thud and Shadow landed back on her feet. She turned to look at the mess she had made with her opponent. Madusa was staring up at her, one of her dark purple eyes closed and bruised, and her face was bleeding. She looked terrified and surprised all at the same time.

Shadow considered making a smartass remark, but she thought it would be best to leave now before she gives Mazchna any more reason to kick her out due to what she did to his daughter. Shadow sniffed loudly in a huff before turning around and unlocking the huge stone door behind her. She took one last lingering look of hatred toward the fallen demon before the door shut behind her. 

* * *

Shadow had made her way to Port Phasmatys, charging through the woods without really thinking. She had remembered the talk of some of the slayers about that place where they only let in ghosts, people who helped them in some way, or creatures from the nearby slayer guild.

Since Shadow was one of those creatures she was immediately recognized by the ghosts and was given a free pass inside without having to go through the trouble of trying to communicate with the ghosts without a ghost speak amulet.

Shadow had meant to just walk around the small little port, but for some reason she had spotted a small little broken up house that was long abandoned that very much reminded her of her little farmhouse she grew up in and went inside it.

Shadow looked around in the small ectoplasm filled house. It made her heart ache with a homesickness she hadn't had since she was a level 3. She couldn't help but wonder what happened to her little house. It was probably given to another little farmer family with a son and daughter just like her brother and herself…

This thought only made her feel sicker to her stomach and she wrapped her arms around herself, pressing her back against a somewhat clean wall and slid down it. She wondered what time it was, 2 AM, 3 AM? She could feel her eyes getting heavier as the night went on.

Finally she gave up the fight for consciousness and let her eyes close and her body slowly shut down until she finally fell into a deep sleep in the little house in Port Phasmatys. 

* * *

"Mother, are you almost done?"

"Almost, my sweetie. I just need to tie one more knot and then you can open your eyes."

"This is really stupid…"

"Oh hush now. Ok, you can open your eyes now darling."

Shadow gingerly opened one eye to test what she saw before opening the other one in shock. "I look like a doll threw up on me." She muttered with a frown as she looked in the mirror at herself in front of her.

She was wearing a slim, pink dress with a small black belt tied around the waist and tiny little bows around the shoulders. Her black hair was tied up into a bun rather than her regular spiky pigtails and a large rose beret was stuck inside of the bun.

"Nonsense. You look beautiful, my angel." Her mother walked behind her and bent down to kiss her daughter on the cheek, brushing back a strand of hair that had made its way out of Shadow's bun. She looked into the mirror along with her daughter and Shadow could get a clear view of her mother's face.

From one glance you would at first think they were twins except Shadow being a smaller version. Her mother's silky black hair fell down along her back and her eyes were an almost exact copy of her daughter's.

"Do I HAVE to wear this dress to the festival? Everyone will stare at me." Shadow shrank back in her chair slightly at the thought of all eyes on her, staring at her in her pink dress when she was never seen wearing anything else but a shirt and pants.

"Let them stare then, my precious. If they stare, they only stare out of awe at your beauty or envy that it is not theirs. Keep that thought in mind darling." Her mother spoke in a hushed voice before hugging her daughter tightly.

A knock from the front door stopped Shadow from replying. "Jade, are you in there?" asked a female's voice from the other side.

"Come in Ruby." Shadow's mother replied in welcome. "I was just putting the finishing touches on Shadow's outfit for the festival tonight." She continued as her best friend Ruby walked into the house from the room next to theirs.

Ruby was truly a sight to see when she walked into a room. With her long fiery red hair flowing and her thin body she could have any man she wanted, but she didn't trust men due to happenings that Shadow was not allowed to know about yet…

As soon as Ruby walked into the room Shadow could tell something was wrong. Her hazel eyes looked troubled and she was gripping a letter tightly between her fingers.

"You look beautiful Shadow." She offered a weak smile to her before turning to her best friend. "Jade, I just saw you got a letter addressing about a certain injury to a certain husband." Shadow caught a swift glance made by the redhead directed toward her before looking at Jade closely.

Shadow frowned and looked at the letter in between Ruby's hands. The post had a picture of a skull with a sword thrust through it…how odd.

Shadow knew that Ruby sometimes helped Postie Pete with the mail around the city when she needed the extra money. Ruby had to sort through the letters in order to sort what went to whom, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she went through her best friend's mail.

Jade flashed her friend a thoughtful look before bending down slightly and pushing Shadow off her chair. "Sweetie, why don't you go out to the barn and tell your father and brother that supper's almost ready." She asked of her daughter, pushing her toward the door.

"Can I get out of this dress first?" Shadow pleaded to her mother, stopping halfway toward the door. "Ronaldo will take one look at me and laugh." She continued with a grumpy frown.

"No, I still have a few tweaks to do to it before tonight, now please do as I ask and try not to get that dress dirty." With one last gentle shove her mother turned back to her friend with a newfound concern in her eyes.

Shadow let out a long sigh before walking the rest of the way to the door and opening it before shutting it behind her, leaving it open just a crack. She paused beside it, curiosity causing her to eavesdrop. Why would her mother and Ruby want to hide something from her? She just turned into a level 3 for the god's sake!

"You still haven't told them yet?" Ruby finally asked from beyond the door. Shadow could hear crinkling as if she were opening the letter now.

Jade sighed. "No. They're still too young to know about their father's past. It's better if they just believe what we've always told them. To them he is and was always a simple farmer, nothing more. "

"What are you afraid of, Jade? They're level 3's and 4's. They will be going out to start their own adventures soon, maybe even possibly becoming what he once was." There was an impatient note in her voice.

"No!" Jade suddenly snapped. "You know what happened to Phoenix when he decided to become a…you know. I raised them to be farmers and they enjoy farming…" Jade was sounding desperate now, her voice becoming choked to Shadow's shock.

"Just because you raised them to be farmers doesn't mean that will stop them from following their dreams, no matter how dangerous they may be. I've seen Shadow talking to passing by adventurer's every chance she got, her eyes lighting up with excitement when they tell their stories. And Ronaldo seems interested in becoming a traveling merchant."

"I know Ruby, I know. I want them to follow their dreams. I just…" She paused and Shadow could hear a swallow. "I just don't want them getting hurt."

"You're their mother; of course you wouldn't want that. Are you still telling them that Phoenix's injury is a 'farmer accident'?" Ruby asked her skeptically.

"They haven't questioned me yet." Jade replied. "Now, about the letter…"

Shadow had already walked away from the door, having heard enough. It sounded like her mother had been lying to her and her brother. But why would she do that? Didn't she trust them?

Shadow tried not to think about it as she walked around the fence across from their small house and opened the gate. Sheep were grazing inside of it, some looking up as she walked in. Their barn was right beside them…or their shed as Ronaldo called it, being that it was so small.

Shadow trotted to the barn, being careful not to get her dress too dirty. This was humiliating having to wear such a girly piece of clothing…having to hold up part of her dress so it didn't touch the ground.

"What do you want a tuxedo for, Ronaldo?" Shadow could hear her father's voice beyond the closed barn…or shed.

"Well everyone else is dressing up so I…I don't know…figured I should too." Ronaldo was muttering and he sounded embarrassed.

Shadow's father chuckled softly. "I'm guessing this is about a girl, eh?"

"What? No-!" Ronaldo began to protest but Shadow quickly opened the doors and stepped in before this could go on.

Her brother and father looked up in surprise, Ronaldo's surprise turning into a sigh of relief and he got back to a back of feed he was mixing.

"What is it Shadow?" Phoenix's voice turned softer as he addressed his daughter. He grabbed his crutches and started to get up from where he was sitting.

"Oh no, that's ok you don't have to get up." Shadow stopped him. "Mother just sent me to tell you supper is almost ready…" Her voice trailed off as she studied her father closer, remembering the 'injury' comment.

Her father was a handsome man for his age. He had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, a shadow of a beard on his face, and the most noticeable thing of all, he had one fake wooden leg. His real leg had to be cut off a long time ago due to a farmer injury…she was told.

Her father smiled and looked her up and down. "That's a beautiful dress, honey. You'll be a knockout at the festival tonight. I'll have to take off my leg and beat the boys off with it." Her father joked. "Doesn't your sister look pretty Ronaldo?" Phoenix asked his son.

Ronaldo gave her a quick glance, stifled a laugh, and turned back to the feed. "Yeah, sure." He mumbled.

Shadow stuck her tongue out at him before turning around and heading to leave, but she paused and looked back at her father. "Father…?" She began.

He nodded at her, willing her to speak. "What is it Shadow?" His brown, liquid eyes making her feel like she could ask him anything.

"How did you say your leg got hurt again?" Shadow asked him, studying him intently, looking for any kind of strange reaction.

Phoenix's smile disappeared from his face. "I got attacked by a runaway guard dog from the manor while I was trying to protect the sheep. I thought we went through this a long time ago."

Shadow tensed up but quickly nodded to hide it. "Right…I guess I just forgot. Forget I said anything." She quickly went through the doors and shut them tight behind her before he could reply.

Shadow sighed deeply and shut her eyes for a split second, heading to the gate. It didn't make any sense…why would her family lie to her and her brother? Then again maybe her father was just confused or something…because after all…

Last time she asked, her father said he was attacked by a wolf, not a guard dog. 

* * *

Shadow walked numbly to the dining hall, her hands were stuffed in her pants pockets and her eyes were facing the floor. Last night's dream, or memory, was still fresh on her mind.

Shadow had jerked awake just before dawn and had speeded back to the guild hoping to get back in her bed before her roommate woke up. But fate apparently wasn't on her side because the Soulless was already awake and reading her book when Shadow had barged in.

She quickly made up a lame excuse that she wanted to wash up early so she wouldn't miss breakfast even though she knew Midnight was smarter than that and she probably looked like hell, but Midnight didn't question her about her lie.

So while Midnight was enjoying the warm spray of clean water on her skin Shadow was going to get breakfast…alone.

Her memory was thrust into the back of her mind as she suddenly remembered what went on last night before she left the guild. She had actually stood up for herself against Madusa and kicked her ass in the process!

But what would the other slayers think of that? Did she even tell them? Surely they would notice the black eye Shadow was sure she gave her. But would she add salt to the wound and admit that she, a powerful half-demon, was defeated by a mere human?

Shadow pondered this for a few moments outside the doors to the dining hall before pushing them open and going inside. She noticed at once that something was different. Instead of stuffing their faces and not looking at each other like the slayers usually did, the creatures were huddled in hushed groups, not even paying much attention to the food in front of them.

Shadow scanned the room slowly. Madusa wasn't in the room, but she could clearly hear that they were talking about the girl. Apparently rumors were spreading about how she got injured. Shadow edged closer to a group of slayers to hear what they were saying.

"I'm telling you, Midnight got blood thirsty last night and wanted to go in for round two. What else would it be?" A wolf headed slayer raised his voice over the gossiping, sounding pretty sure of himself.

"Yeah! I think you're right. And besides, Midnight has been walking around like she owns this place since she attacked Madusa. She probably got cocky" A vampire like creature agreed.

"I really don't think that's the case. There's more than one creature in here that has a bone to pick with miss demon queen you know." Aqua was in the small gossiping group, not really seeming like she cared that much as she chewed on a grape.

Shadow growled quietly as she listened more closely to the other gossipers. Almost everyone was agreeing that the attacker was Midnight. If word got to Mazchna Midnight could be in serious trouble…besides who were they to judge the Soulless when they knew nothing about her?

The wolf-head scoffed. "All I know is that she's a freak, I mean even freakier than a freak. She's attacked before, who's to say she wouldn't do it again. I bet she attacks things for fun and feeds on their fear." Laughter followed his comment and Shadow couldn't take it anymore.

Shadow clenched her fists and faced the wolf, standing straight and tall. "Midnight didn't attack anyone, it was self defense!" Shadow snapped a little louder than she needed to. All eyes suddenly turned to her, most likely waiting to see the little human get crushed to pieces by the big bad wolf.

The wolf man let out a bellowing laugh and stood up, towering at least 3 feet taller than Shadow. "Did you want to repeat that to me, little human? I couldn't hear you from all the way down there."

Shadow didn't back down, returning the glare and raising her voice louder. "I said to leave Midnight out of this. She had nothing to do with the attack last night."

All around her quiet laughter followed her comment. The wolf man rolled his eyes and bended down closer to Shadow until he was face to face with her. "And how would you know anything about that, hmm?"

"Because last night Madusa attacked me and I fought back. I kicked her in the face with my heel. It was self defense!" She had to raise her voice as halfway through the confession laughter had thundered through the room, the loudest coming from her tormentor in front of her.

"A human defeating Madusa, yeah right!" The wolf said loudly between laughs. "The next time you want attention you might want to think of a better lie than that. "

"She speaks the truth."

All mouths suddenly shut and laughter stopped as a stern voice suddenly filled the room. Everyone was looking behind Shadow.

Shadow sighed and shut her eyes tight in frustration, having recognized the voice without needing to turn around. "Mazchna, look I can explain-"She began in exasperation.

"No need. Madusa came to me right after it happened and told me everything. I'd like to see you in my office…_now."_

Shadow didn't wince at the last harsh word, though yesterday she was sure she would have. She merely took one last look around her, the shocked look on the faces of the slayers that only seconds ago had been laughing at her convincing her that whatever happened next would be worth it.

Shadow whipped around and stalked past Mazchna without looking directly at him.

The walk to Mazchna's office was quiet, tense, and awkward as the demon followed behind her the whole time.

Finally they reached his office and Mazchna shut the door behind them before turning to Shadow, who was now looking directly at him with a challenge in her eye. She had done nothing wrong and she was here to prove it.

"Like I said in there, it was self-"

"I'm not looking for an explanation." Mazchna lifted up a paw to interrupt her. He stalked over to the wall of posters, pacing back and forth beside them as he spoke. "My daughter came barging into my office pointing at her bloody face and speaking outraged gibberish and shaking like a leaf. As a father you should assume how I felt."

Shadow opened her mouth but Mazchna interrupted her again. "She finally calmed down enough to tell me that you 'attacked' her. But, as slayer master, I had to search her mind and see if she was telling the truth or not…she was not. Instead I saw she attacked you…and you actually fought back. It is because of this that I hereby…"

Shadow straightened up taller and faced her slayer master, expecting the worst.

"…congratulate you." Mazchna finished.

Shadow shot him an astonished look. "Excuse me? I kicked your daughter in the face and you're congratulating me for it? That doesn't make any sense!"

Mazchna smirked at her. "You proved that you are the famous thief that I've seen on wanted posters for years now-"

"Wait. What do you mean you've seen me on wanted posters for years? You didn't know who I was until about a week ago!" Shadow snapped at him, clawing at the sides of her head in frustration.

"Oh I knew who you were. I recognized what you looked like…but I knew you weren't THE Shadow that I saw on the posters and heard stories about. When you came here you were timid and polite, now I see you're sticking up for yourself. Why do you think I let you in my guild in the first place?"

"Because you looked into my past and saw I was an outcast?"

"I don't let any human in that has been pushed down a few times. I look for humans that I think will make it in this guild and be a good addition to my team. If I didn't know who you were I wouldn't have let you in. Get it?"

"…Sort of…" Shadow muttered under her breath. "So you're saying I proved myself or something?" She crossed her arms.

"Only one way to find out. How'd you like to lead your first mission?"

Shadow could feel her eyes bugging out and she had to keep herself steady on her feet. "Are you freaking serious? But I've only been here for-!"

"I know I know this is only a test. I'll tell Midnight, Argon, and April to go with you, seeing that they are the most likely not to object….although after your little performance today I think you'll be getting a lot more respect around here."

Shadow nodded enthusiastically. "I won't let you down, M. I swear I'll be the Shadow you've been expecting since day one."

"Just because I'm giving you more responsibility doesn't mean you can give me ridiculous nickna-"But Shadow was already long gone out the door with a skip in her step.

Mazchna smirked fondly and shook his head. "I hope I'm right about this. Otherwise there's going to be hell to pay." He huffed a demonic laugh under his breath. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

Wow…this took way longer than I wanted it to. Thank you Jessica for the introduction and I'm sorry guys if this chapter didn't have much action in it but I can guarantee you that there's a lot more action to come.

Now to be perfectly honest with you guys there isn't THAT many chapters left but I can promise you there will be a surprise at the end so you better keep reading…not going to give anything away.

Oh yeah, I'm going to turn 15 in 2 days so consider reviews my birthday presents :)

REVIEW!


	13. Unhappy Halloween

Chapter 13 

* * *

Unhappy Halloween 

* * *

Shadow breathed in short sharp gasps. In one hand she gripped a whip, her own whip that she had painted blue, and the other she held a silver sickle. She pressed her body against the murky tree she was hiding behind. Beyond the tree she could hear their high pitched screams…they were close.

She couldn't rely on her sense of touch beneath her feet, being that the creatures never touched the ground. She had to let her other senses take over, feeling for any change of temperature or the sudden shift of the wind.

Suddenly she felt it. A slight degree drop and a breeze so small that a normal person probably wouldn't be able to feel it. Shadow held her sickle against her chest and wrapped her whip tightly around her palm. She took a deep breath before fearlessly jumping around the tree with a battle cry.

She had lifted her sickle to bring it down on the transparent body, but quickly withdrew and jumped back as her opponent was not what she thought it was.

"Midnight!" She gasped in realization, clutching her chest as she got her breath back. "I thought you were a freaking Ghast!"

Midnight who had raised her own whip slowly lowered it and raised an eyebrow. "Thanks?" She said sarcastically. "I was tracking one but then it disappeared…oh there it is." She was looking behind Shadow and she whipped around.

A giant Ghast brought its nearly invisible fist down to strike her, but Shadow jumped out of the way just in time. She raised her sickle and sank it into the invisible flesh of the ghostlike creature before it could move. At once it became visible…and ugly.

The Ghast was made out of bones with no bottom half and only a cloak to cover SOME of it and it floated in the air.

The boney skull of the creature opened up and let out another high pitched screech before Midnight and Shadow brought down their whips on it together and it evaporated into the air.

Shadow let out a cocky huff and flicked her hair back from her eyes. "Damn, we're really getting good at this." She smiled at her friend before putting the sickle back in her belt. "Have you seen Argon and April around anywhere?"

Midnight fixed her hood around her head, which she had accidently let slip down slightly, before replying. "I ran into April around the entrance to the swamp. Argon secured the low level that went in here and is giving him a talk as we speak." Midnight reported.

Shadow laughed under her breath. "Argon telling off a low level? I pity the kid. Alright, let's find April and then we can get out of here. We already reached way past our goal with the Ghast's and the low level is safe." With that said, Shadow led Midnight confidently around the murky Mort Myre Swamp.

Everything was quiet that day until that afternoon when Mazchna got information about a low level that had wandered into the swamp and was in peril. Shadow had gladly led the charge picking her favorite team to go with her…only one of them resenting her only slightly. But even Argon seemed to be accepting her now. Midnight had only JUST started calling her by her actual name instead of race…things were pretty good for Shadow right now.

A chill suddenly swirled around the two girls and Shadow shivered. "Since when did it start getting so cold out?" She complained to Midnight.

Midnight shrugged. "We're in a colder season now…which is just peachy because now any mission we have that's outside we'll do covered in ice." Midnight wrapped her cloak tighter around her body as she told her sarcastic remark.

Shadow shut her eyes and shook her head in wonder. "The colder season already? Time really does go fast." She opened her eyes again and slowed down to match her pace with Midnight's. "To think, it was 6 months ago that I kicked Mazchna's daughter in the face to get this far…which is hilarious now that I really think about it." She smiled.

Midnight's face gave off a weird expression that Shadow knew by now was her closest attempt to a smile she could do. "I know I don't usually say this sort of thing but…you deserve it you know. A human getting this far as a slayer is no easy task."

Shadow shrugged. "I'm still only a group leader. I'm up with Kola and Aqua…not exactly a hard thing to do if they can do it."

Midnight huffed. "Yeah…right." She suddenly quickened her pace and left Shadow with a confused look. Before Shadow could ask her what that was about, the gate to Mort Myre came into view with April and Argon clearly through them. A low level with a crappy nearly broken sword was sitting on the ground looking as if he was going to cry. Shadow noticed hand gestures from Argon that didn't indicate he was helping…

Shadow rolled her eyes and barged past Midnight, quickly opening the gates and approaching Argon calmly as the purple boy continued to harass the low level.

"…and there're monsters in there that you've never seen in your life that could chew off your head, swallow it, and spit out the skull all in one move. How the hell do you not know this stuff?" Argon continued to rant and rave with April and the boy reflecting the same horrified expressions.

Shadow finally reached him and stood behind him, folding her arms and clearing her throat while Argon paused to take a breath.

At her stern 'ahem' he winced and slowly turned around.

Shadow raised her eyebrow as Midnight came to stand by her side. "I like your creativity with the whole 'head munching 'thing," She began, "but do you really think that scaring the kid to death is really necessary?"

Argon made a choking sound like he was thoroughly offended and pointed at the kid. "I can't help this kid is too much of a DUMBASS to not know that-"

"I'M SORRY! I WON'T EVER STEP FOOT IN THAT PLACE AGAIN." The kid suddenly screamed, standing up and retreating rapidly the way he had come with tears flowing from his eyes.

Midnight growled under her breath and massaged her temples. "Argon, if anyone is the dumbass here, it's you."

Argon made a move to snap back but April quickly talked over him. "So Shadow, are we done here?" She asked hopefully.

Shadow nodded and motioned for her team to follow her. "Let's get back to the guild before Mazchna sends a search party after us." The team followed her, Argon trailing slightly behind as always.

April laughed her extremely girly laugh beside Shadow. "I don't think he would do that. Mazchna trusts you now, remember?"

Shadow shrugged as they walked down the path to Canifis. "I don't know. I still think he thinks of me as the same shivering, spineless mouse that first came here."

April let out a small giggle before covering her mouth. "Oh…I wouldn't say that." She said with pure amusement in her voice.

Shadow frowned at her. "Ok, what is with you? You're acting weirder than usual."

April laughed again and looked away. "Oh…nothing." She smiled happily and skipped ahead toward Canifis.

Shadow sighed and turned to the Soulless beside her. "Any clue what's wrong with her NOW?"

Midnight raised an eyebrow at her direction. "I have a CLUE, I suppose."

Shadow balled up her fists and got ready to release a frustrated growl before she suddenly noticed something different about the small town in front of her.

There were lights…EVERYWHERE, tiny lanterns lighting up the place. There were also pumpkins with faces carved in them. The villagers were hustling around helping to put up different decorations.

"The hell is going on?" Shadow asked no one in particular as she and the others arrived next to April who had halted right outside of the small town.

"If THIS town is celebrating something it must be for Zamorak worshipping." Argon muttered under his breath behind them.

"Actually it's Canifis's annual Halloween festival." Midnight said. She, after all, had been in the guild the longest out of the small group.

"Festival?" Shadow gritted her teeth at the word. It had to be called a festival. What happened to 'party'?

Midnight nodded. "Yeah, festival. Pretty much every town and city in Runescape has their own little celebrations for Halloween. It's a time where the freaks can come out and…not be freaks."

Argon walked up beside them and scratched his head in thought. "I'm pretty sure Catherby was planning one before we left. They actually take this stuff seriously."

April suddenly clapped her hands and did a small hop. "This is awesome! We're going to a party tonight."

"Not likely," Midnight began, "Mazchna only lets a small number of slayers go to this thing. The rest need to stay behind in case there're any emergencies."

"As optimistic as ever, Midnight?" Shadow elbowed the Soulless in the arm, to which she shrank back in a battle stance, but quickly calmed herself down.

Argon shrugged. "Whatever. These things are stupid." He then lifted his head higher and barged past the three girls, trudging through the town as if to make his point. "I'll see you guys back at the guild."

April smiled brightly despite her brother's harsh tone. "I think we have a pretty good chance at going. After all Shadow with your promotion coming Mazchna should give you a couple perks-what's wrong Midnight?" April suddenly stopped flapping her mouth and looked at Midnight in confusion.

The Soulless had clasped her hand over her face in a face palm and started shaking her head slowly in exasperation. "Don't you ever know when to shut your mouth?"

April still seemed utterly bewildered, but Shadow had caught the sentence loud and clear.

"Promotion? What promotion?" Shadow looked from Midnight to April back and forth looking for an answer. "Is this what you guys were being so secretive about?"

April bobbed her head up and down happily, only stopping when Midnight stopped it herself with a firm hand over her face.

Midnight sighed slowly while rubbing her temple with her free hand. "There's a rumor going around the guild-"

"A rumor? That's what you're basing this on?" Shadow asked them skeptically.

"Ith not entiwerly a wumor." April's words came out muffled under Midnight's hand.

Midnight whipped her hand back and shook it in the wind. "You got spit on my hand." Midnight muttered in her monotone.

April ignored her and looked at Shadow again, her whole body now jumping up and down. "The rumor came straight from Mazchna's daughter, the queen of ice, herself. Then she told her friends who told their friends who told their enemies-"

"Ok can you just get to the rumor part please?" Shadow asked with clenched teeth. "And for the love of the gods stop bouncing!"

April ceased her bouncing and looked at the ground. "Sorry. Anyway, Mazchna told Madusa that he's getting old, which is believable since he's like 1000 years old, so-"

"There comes a point in every slayer masters life where they choose a second in command, a successor to be the next slayer master of their guild in case anything happens to them." Midnight stepped in impatiently.

April frowned at her. "I was GETTING to that part. But anyway, Madusa confirmed that Mazchna is going to announce who he chooses to be second in command soon! It could be any day now."

Shadow raised a bored eyebrow before walking through the town they were still standing in front of. "I still fail to see what any of that has to do with me."

April suddenly ran beside her and jumped in front of her with her hands stretched out. "Don't you SEE? Mazchna is going to make you second in command of the guild!"

Midnight walked up beside them calmly. "We don't know that for sure. It's just a rumor that's going around."

Shadow stepped back as if stung and coughed and spluttered. "ME? Second in command of the guild of creatures that not just 6 months ago wanted to eat me? Yeah, I don't think so."

"Aw c'mon!" April began. "They are so over the whole 'human' thing since you stood up to Madusa. And you've only climbed higher and higher since then. Mazchna HAS to make you second in command."

Shadow stared at her boots for a few seconds before looking back up at Midnight and April. "Do you really think it's possible?"

"Totally!" April jumped up with a clap.

Midnight seemed to be looking at anything than the human in front of her. "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to get your hopes up. The position could go to anybody."

Shadow gazed up at the sky and started to space out. "Yeah…I guess."

Still, she couldn't help but think what having the job would be like. After all this time she would finally be known as something other than 'thief'. She would someday be known as 'Shadow, Slayer Master of Canifis'.

"Shadow? Are you alive?" Midnight's voice suddenly cut into her thoughts and Shadow looked at her with a questioning look.

"I said we should get back to Mazchna and report our mission…" Midnight sighed.

April looked excited, nothing out of the usual. "Yeah! And then we could ask Mazchna if we could go to the festival."

Shadow nodded. "Right. Let's go."

* * *

"…so in conclusion, the low level is safe and the Mort Myre Swamp has been scouted out and secured." Shadow finished her report to Mazchna. It felt so good to be acting professional and knowing that it wasn't just a con.

The demon nodded at her words and rose from where he was sitting. "Very good, Shadow. Another successful mission. You are all dismissed." At this he turned around and casted his attention toward a stack of papers on one of his tables.

Shadow suddenly felt a sharp jab in her side and turned to see April looking up at her hopefully. Shadow turned to her right to see if Midnight had any advice, but the Soulless merely shrugged. Argon had gone back to his room already, even though it was against the rules. Then again when did he ever follow the rules?

Shadow sighed inwardly and stood straighter before clearing her throat loudly.

"Yes, what is it now?" Mazchna asked her impatiently without turning around from his paper sorting.

"Mazchna we've worked hard for the last 6 months and I think we deserve some sort of small break. Such as the Halloween festival in Canifis tonight?" Shadow could feel April literally shaking with excitement.

Mazchna stopped his sorting and slowly turned around. Shadow braced herself for a big fat no-

"I don't see why not. As you said you and your group have worked hard these last couple of months. I suppose you have earned a night of what you call 'fun'."

Shadow stayed frozen at the spot, in absolute utter shock. Had Mazchna really just given them permission to have fun without a fight or any strings attached?

April jumped up and down around the room. "Thank you! Thank you! Oh my gosh this is going to be so much fun. We'll dance and mingle and drink punch and-"

"Yes, yes, that's all very nice. You can leave my office now." Mazchna snapped crossly. "Go before I change my mind."

Shadow's feet stayed glued to the ground. It couldn't be that easy could it? She slowly shook her head to snap herself out of her trance before asking boldly, "Ok, M, what's the catch? Tomorrow we have to work twice as hard? We have to be back here in exactly one hour? What is it?"

Mazchna sighed loudly and wiped a red, crusty hand across his forehead. "There is no catch. Tonight is a Halloween festival, you were the first group brave enough to ask if you could attend it, and that is that. Personally I cannot possibly wrap my brain around why dancing around like morons and talking to half wolf creatures is considered fun. But I suppose it is not my place to judge."

Shadow blinked slowly. "So…no strings attached?"

"Yes, that is what I just said." Mazchna growled at her, clenching his fists together as his temper began to rise higher.

Shadow suddenly felt a soft whisper in her ear and had to keep herself from flinching at the tickling feeling. "Come on, Shadow. Mazchna said we could go already! Why are you trying to tick him off?" Shadow turned to see the small purple girl pouting at her with her hands on her hips, which apparently was a threatening look for April.

Shadow cleared her throat once again. "Right. Thanks for the 'go ahead', M! Don't expect us to be back at the guild until after 1:00." Shadow began to make her way to the door with Midnight and a bouncing April right behind her.

"You will be here just before midnight." Mazchna ordered her as she opened the door. "Any later and you'll be battling off vampires while trying to get back into the guild."

Shadow sighed loudly. "I knew there had to be some kind of catch. See you later, M!"

"And cut it out with the ridiculous nick-"His yell was cut off by the door slamming before he could finish.

As the three girls began to head through the tunnels toward their own rooms, April was buzzing with excitement and Shadow noticed she had her hands clasped together so tight they were turning pale.

"What's so amazing about this festival anyway?" Shadow asked her. "And for the gods sakes don't forget to freaking breath!" She slammed a hand against her back, causing the purple girl to let out a gust of air she was holding in.

"Sorry. I'm just so excited! All Catherby ever did for festival's was set up decorations. Every year Argon and I would hear the thunderous beats of music and laughter that sounded like it was just across the water we were beside and we were never allowed to go. We later found out that it was Ardougne making all the noise. Ever hear of the city? From what I heard it's the largest city in all of Runescape. Anyway-"

"Ardougne?" Shadow and Midnight suddenly asked at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise, or at least Midnight raised an eyebrow.

Shadow coughed quietly and found herself rubbing her arms awkwardly. "Does the city mean anything to you, Midnight?"

"No…" Midnight replied confidently. "What about you?"

Shadow shut her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not sure. I just felt like I recognized the word somehow."

"Maybe you both have been there before?" April asked them curiously. "It is a BIG city. It held the biggest festivals as well. If you think what we are going to is a party, you should go to one of Ardougne's parties…from what I heard anyway." She added more quietly.

Shadow opened her eyes and stopped walking. "Right…maybe my brother and I just passed it while we were traveling." She said almost to herself. But she just couldn't escape the nagging feeling in the back of her head that told her otherwise.

Midnight and April had stopped as well and were looking back at the human girl awkwardly. April shifted her feet before suggesting loudly, "Hey, if you're having trouble with a memory maybe you could go see the fortune teller. I heard she was going to be at the Canifis festival tonight."

Shadow's head immediately shot up. "Fortune teller? There's going to be one of those at the festival? Tonight? And she helps uncover memories?"

April nodded vigorously. "I just said that. So I guess she's more of a gypsy than a fortune teller."

Shadow was suddenly up on the heels of her feet. "Why didn't you say that to begin with? We need to get ready for the party! Come on!" She rushed past April and Midnight at top speed before they could process what was going.

Shadow suddenly thought of something and came to a screeching halt, doubling back to the still frozen girls. "By the way, is it a costume party?"

With a glare from Midnight and a small giggle from April, Shadow laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "Guess that was a stupid question, huh? Because you're…already…monsters-ok I'll just meet you guys at the party." With that said, she continued her run back to her room.

* * *

Shadow paced back and forth outside of the Canifis party that had already started playing deafening music. Creatures and humans alike were passing by each other to get into the party without a growl, a snarl, or even a hateful glare. Apparently beer and loud music was enough to unite any race together.

The party was much more crowded than Shadow had pictured given how small the town was. She had been inside there 5 seconds and was pushed and shoved until she finally randomly kicked someone in the shin and went outside to wait for Midnight and April.

Shadow didn't really care about the actual party. All she cared about was finding the gypsy that was somewhere inside of it. She wanted answers to questions that she had been asking for months now. Why did she lose her memories? Why did only some of them randomly pop up in her head in no particular order?...Why hadn't she had any more for 6 months straight?

A sudden twig snapping in the darkness of the woods in front of her brought her back to her senses. For a split second she tensed up, ready to attack a vampire that Mazchna had warned her about time and time again, but quickly composed herself when Midnight and April stepped out.

Shadow blinked a couple times to make sure something wasn't wrong with her eyes. In front of her, April was not wearing her usual purple outfit. Instead she wore an extremely short, purple skirt that hugged tight to her legs, a purple top that needless to say left little to the imagination, and black high heeled stilettos that put Shadow's high heeled boots to shame.

Shadow cleared her throat as April and Midnight walked up in front of her. "April…" she began awkwardly, "I don't know to say this nicely…so what the hell are you wearing?"

April looked at her in surprise before examining her outfit indignantly. "What? Don't you like it? I bought it a while ago just in case I got to go to any parties."

"You look like you're working for this party as a stripper." Midnight crossed her arms and glared at her. Midnight still looked the same as always with her black cloak and her hood covering most of her face. Shadow half wondered if Midnight was pissed because April was dressed like a whore…or because she knew she couldn't dress that way anymore.

Shadow herself hadn't bothered much with her attire. She wore her regular hip hugging Vyrewatcher pants and boots, but swapped in her regular top with a black tank top that was low cut, but only showed a small amount of cleavage compared to April.

April pouted and put her hands on her hips. "I know it's a little much, but it's not like I'm going to jump in bed with the first guy that flirts with me. I CAN control myself you know."

"What did your brother say about you wearing this?" Shadow asked her. She knew she shouldn't care so much, but something about this just ticked her off. Maybe it was because April was so nice and naïve, so Shadow worried about her. In this world you had to have some street smarts…or ANY smarts to know that in an atmosphere with disgusting creatures and monsters who don't give a crap about anything, you shouldn't go around wearing close to nothing.

April shuffled her feet. "My brother? Well…actually-"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING?"

Shadow turned to see a very pissed off looking Argon stomping out of the woods toward them.

"Well, this is about to get more interesting than the festival." Midnight raised an eyebrow.

Argon stomped in front of April and looked her up and down in a horrified manner. "What the hell are you wearing?" He repeated loudly. "Put on some damn clothes! Do you WANT to look like you can pick up 1k without using your hands? What are you thinking? Guys are going to be ogling you like you're a piece of ass. Do you want that? I thought you would have more sense than that-"

"Ok, ok!" April stopped his flurry of angry questions. "If it'll make everybody happy, I'll go back and change." With that, she stomped off in her high heels back into the woods, muttering angry words under her breath.

Argon took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He turned to look awkwardly at the two girls that were still beside him looking on with amusement and mockery in their eyes. He cleared his throat and growled, "Shut up." Before barging past them and entering the party.

Midnight cleared her throat as well before turning to Shadow. "Well since it'll take April 2 hours to get changed again, I'll take you to the gypsy."

Shadow gave her a weird looking and looked back at the party and then her. "We don't have to do that right away you know. We can dance first and then go see the gypsy if you want."

Midnight shook her head. "Do I really look like someone who cares about dancing?" She asked dryly. "And from what I saw, you don't really care about the party anyway. You only seemed really interested when we started talking about the gypsy."

Shadow studied her face closely and rubbed her temple. "Nothing gets past you, Midnight. Alright let's go see the gypsy."

Midnight nodded and quick as a flash pushed Shadow out of the way and began to cut through the crowd. Shadow raised an eyebrow and followed her close behind, following the trail that Midnight was leaving as she shoved drinkers and dancers out of the way. The music was deafening but Shadow didn't care. All she cared about was finding the gypsy.

Midnight led a straight line through the crowd, seeming to know exactly where she was going. Shadow half wondered if she had gone to the gypsy before when it was here. Maybe to see if there was any chance at getting her soul back?

Finally they stopped in front of what appeared to be a large purple tent with purple silk, nearly see through curtains draped around the entrance. In front of the tent was a large sign with an open eye on it.

Shadow blinked multiple times. "I think I recognize this." She said under her breath. "This tent is usually in Varrock." She took a step forward right outside of the entrance.

Midnight shrugged. "Guess she figures that moving her business around rather than just sitting in one place draws more customers."

"Are you two going to stand outside gossiping or are you going to come in?" A sudden raspy voice spoke inside of the tent, making Shadow turn in surprise.

"Wow…she's good." Shadow murmured in Midnight's ear.

Midnight rolled her eyes. "Doesn't take amazing mind power to hear two voices right next to where you are." She growled and then swept the curtains aside and entered the tent. Shadow followed close behind, biting back a comeback.

Inside the tent was actually a lot bigger than it appeared outside. The roof was high and the tent itself was fairly wide. Large enough to hold at least 4 people at once looking for a fortune.

There wasn't very much inside. There was a small table with a crystal ball on top of it, as to be expected. On each side there was a single chair and in one of those chairs was a very OLD looking woman with long white hair that looked combed back, a massive amount of makeup piled on her face, and a ring on every one of her crippled old fingers.

"Welcome, young ones." The woman's voice reminded Shadow of nails scraping on sandpaper. "The stars informed me that you two would pay a visit to me today. What is it that you wish?" Her painted eyes darted back and forth between the Soulless and human.

Shadow hesitated for a moment before Midnight sighed impatiently and pushed Shadow forward. "Shadow wants you to uncover her memories." Shadow turned around to glare at her, but Midnight looked back boldly. "Well you do don't you?" She snapped.

The gypsy nodded her head slowly. "Very well. Easily done…for a price." She added slyly.

Shadow sighed loudly and approached the table until she was standing over the wrinkled woman. "How much?" She growled, already searching her pants pockets for money.

"Cross my palm with 5 silver." Shadow gave her a weird look and she quickly explained, "Or I suppose in your own words it would be 25 coins. With my head up in the stars so much I sometimes forget what century it is, you see." She released a loud cough that Shadow could only assume was a very dried up laugh.

Shadow took out a small bag of money, 25 coins exactly, and dropped it on the table next to the gypsy. "There's your money. Will you help me now?"

The gypsy studied her face before picking up the small bag with her claws…or nails as they were supposed to be. She weighed the money bag in her hand carefully and shook the bag near her ear, listening to the satisfying jingle from it.

"Very well, child." The gypsy pulled open the top of her blouse and dropped the money inside of it, to Shadow's disgust. "I am Gypsy Aris," she addressed the two girls more formally, "but you may call me Aris if you so desire. You said that you wish to uncover memories?" She looked up at the tall human figure in front of her.

"Well it's a little more complicated-"Shadow began to explain hastily.

"Have a seat before you say anything else, child." Aris instructed her. "You are blocking my view of the stars." She pointed upwards and Shadow followed her finger. Above her head were tiny crystal star figures hanging from the ceiling. They seemed to sparkle enough to light up the whole tent.

Shadow nodded and took her place across the table from Aris. The old gypsy looked over her shoulder at Midnight, who was still standing in the shadows not uttering a word.

Midnight blinked. "I'm guessing you want me to leave?" She grudgingly asked the gawking gypsy.

"Only if your paying customer friend doesn't mind. The stars don't seem to object. Most people tend to want to do these things more privately. There is no telling what secrets will come out of uncovering memories, I warn you." Aris said cryptically.

Shadow blinked slowly before shaking her head. "She can stay. She's my good friend…I trust her." Even as she said these words out loud for the first time she knew she believed them. Being on the run pretty much your whole life didn't really earn you any friends and she never really made any close friends in her ex-gang…Midnight may very well be the only true friend she ever had.

Aris nodded slowly. "Very well. Now, what exactly do you ask of the stars and I, child?" The gypsy studied Shadow's face closely, waiting for her answer.

Shadow suddenly felt very nervous under the old woman's gaze. She began to tap her heel that was neatly hid under the table and cleared her throat. Was it finally happening? Was she finally going to find out exactly why she came to be who she was and WHY she forgot her memories in the first place?

She thought long and hard before she answered. She wanted to know EVERYTHING. But her thief instincts were screaming at her not to give away too much about her past that she knew…but wasn't that the point? She needed to confide in this woman…it was the only way.

"I have forgotten almost ALL of my memories of when I was a child," Shadow began, pausing to take a shaky breath, "and I'm not sure why. I only started really thinking of my past 6 months ago after I was kicked out of my gang. Oh, I was a-"

"You were a wanted thief in Varrock, one of the best there was. You were cocky and so you took risks, the biggest risk being the attempted theft of the sacred blue party hat in the Varrock Bank." Aris finished for her, clacking her fingers together.

Shadow blinked in surprise. "The stars told you all that?" She asked in amazement, examining the crystal stars above her head once again in wonder.

The old woman made a weird chucking sound in her throat. "I live in Varrock, child. Just because I hardly left my tent didn't mean I was dumb to the happenings in Varrock. Continue." She ordered.

"I started having…visions whenever I fell asleep. The first one was when I fell asleep on a log right next to a river. I dreamt of when I was a level 15 and my brother was a level 16. We were on an island beside an ocean. Back when we were still getting the hang of running from the guards of Runescape."

"Why were you and your brother running from guards?" Aris interrupted her. She was starting to polish her crystal ball, obviously getting ready to harness its power.

Shadow took a deep breath before continuing. "Part of the reason I was hoping you could answer. But from what I remember we were first run out of the city where we were born in after we stole gems from one of the stalls…" She stopped talking. She knew there was probably more she should be telling her…of how her younger self screamed the objection to killing her own parents…but she was afraid of what answer she might get, even though she knew she'd probably be getting it very soon either way.

After Aris didn't say anything else, Shadow continued. "The second vision I had when I took shelter in a rival gang's hideout." She flinched inwardly at the thought of Cloud, but was careful not to show it. "I dreamt of the day my brother and I stumbled across the Varrock gang, my old gang, for the first time and how they took us in."

Aris nodded solemnly. "Any other visions, child?" She prompted.

"The third was when I was on a slayer mission to slay Infernal Mages. One overtook me and that was when I remembered of the time my brother and I were run out of our city. The last one happened 6 months ago when I fell asleep in a long abandoned small house that could have been a farm house. I dreamt of when I was a level 3 and my brother was a level 4 and we still lived in our small farmhouse. My mother was fitting me for a dress for a festival we were going to that night…my vision didn't last that long." She was careful to skip over any unneeded details.

Aris nodded and put out her hand in a questioning gesture. "I have listened to your story carefully, child. Now what is it that you wish to ask?"

Shadow could feel her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest. This was it! This was where she was finally going to get her answers. "I have a few questions. First, why did I forget these memories in the first place?"

Gypsy Aris took out a deck of cards and shuffled them in her wrinkly old hands while she answered calmly, "It is very common for a young one such as you with a horrible past to self-consciously block out any unpleasant memories without trying. It helps your mind and body to move on. Uncovering them is a different tale…"

Shadow folded a piece of hair that had fallen over her face back behind her ear in thought. Could it really be that simple? "My second question, why am I getting these memories back in bits and pieces and in no particular order?"

Aris was placing the cards in front of her now in a small row, her face creased in concentration, but she was still able to say, "From what I hear it depends on the setting for what memory you receive. You say you dreamt of sitting beside an ocean? You fell asleep beside a river. You dreamt of a little farm house where you grew up? You fell asleep in an abandoned farm house and vice versa child."

Shadow gaped at her and had to clutch the table cloth to keep her from abruptly standing up and knocking down the whole table. It made sense! But why was this?

"I've had some clients with your same situation." Aris seemed to read her mind. "It is very rare, but possible. Your mind reacts to the type of situation you are in and uncovers when you were in a similar situation. It was most likely triggered when you left your gang."

Shadow nodded slowly and focused her attention on her lap. Her gloved hands were holding each other tightly as she fought to find the words to voice her last question.

"My last question…" Shadow took a long, deep breath, "can you help me remember something?"

"Depends on what the memory you are looking to find is, child." Aris was staring at her again, one finger on the card in the middle of the row set before her.

Shadow looked her dead in her eye, knowing for a fact that her green eyes were sure to be blazing right now. "I want to remember what happened the night of the festival."

A cracked smile appeared on the gypsy's face. "Normally, I would not be able to help you child…but," She paused as she picked up the card and looked at it carefully, her eyes flicking over it slowly before she turned back to Shadow, "it seems the stars are in your favor this night."

Shadow clutched her legs and leaned toward the gypsy in excitement. "So you can help me?"

Aris nodded slowly. "I can...but I must advise you on something first."

Shadow gave her a questioning frown before the gypsy suddenly shouted, "HA!" and threw a handful of sparkling blue powder into Shadow's face.

Shadow let out a surprised yell and stumbled back out of her chair, rubbing her eyes and blindly trying to make her way to the exit of the tent, but suddenly dropped limply to the ground before she could move.

Midnight jumped out of the shadows and crouched beside Shadow before unsheathing a hidden dagger from under her cloak and pointing it at the gypsy. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO YOU OLD HAG?" She demanded her, her body beginning to be wrapped in a black fog as she let her anger take control.

The gypsy watched her calmly, shuffling her cards back into a neat pile. "Relax, child. Your friend asked for help and I helped her. The powder is a special sedative powder to help her sleep. It's not too strong, but it is also not too weak."

"You better be speaking the truth, witch" Midnight growled at her, her dagger still poised in the air, though the black fog around her was beginning to die down as she fought it back.

Aris smiled again at the agitated Soulless. "I suppose you want an explanation. In any other circumstance I would not be able to help your friend, but as the stars may have it her memory takes place in a festival much like this one. All she needed was to fall asleep at a festival and remember."

Midnight's eyes, that were now glowing bright red, flicked down to the figure she was crouching beside. She watched as her friend's chest rose up and down as she slept. She relaxed more.

"You could have given more warning…" Midnight growled at Aris under her breath, sheathing her dagger and placing it back under her cloak.

"And what fun would that be?" Aris smiled smugly. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

***bashes head against desk* Wow…just wow.**

**I am so sorry guys it took me THIS long to get this chapter up! I swear school has just sucked the creativity clean out of me and every time I sat down to write I just wrote crap. I WAS going to make this chapter longer but I figured with over 6,000 words and the fact this was supposed to be a Halloween chapter I had to call it a chapter.**

**Thank you all so much for being so patient with me!**

**REVIEW!**


	14. Murder

Chapter 14 

* * *

Murder 

* * *

"Now remember what I told you, Shadow. Chin up, chest out, walk straight, and speak clearly to anyone who talks to you."

"I know, mother! We've been going over this for weeks now."

Shadow waited by the door impatiently while her mother ran back and forth around the house in a hurried fashion, making sure everything was alright in the house while also going back to the mirror to put the finishing touches on her makeup and making sure the wrinkles were smoothed on her dress.

Shadow herself was now in her completed dress with her hair redone and put back up into a bun with a rose beret inside of it. Her mother had also let her put on makeup, explaining that since she was a level 3 now she was ready.

Shadow tapped her foot and fidgeted around the small area she was standing in. "Mother, come on!" She called out. "Father and Ronaldo left for the festival 10 minutes ago; we'll miss all the fun!"

"Yes, yes I know honey I'm almost ready." Her mother told her while adjusting one of the earrings she was wearing. After that task was complete, she flipped her hair back and gave herself one more good look in the mirror before finally turning to her daughter and nodding with a wide smile on her face. "Alright I'm ready."

She grabbed the house key from the table and motioned Shadow out the door. Shadow smiled happily and practically hopped out the door as Jade opened it. At first she wasn't that excited about dressing up to go to a one night event where snooty rich people would talk to her while getting themselves hopelessly drunk.

But after Shadow first heard the blaring music from the city that lived RIGHT next door to her little farm house, she began to get more and more excited. She became so excited that she nearly forgot the little confusion that occurred that morning. It was probably nothing anyway. Just a slip of the tongue on her father's part.

She lifted up her long dress slightly so it didn't touch the ground just as her mother said as they made their way down the city's paths and into the heart of the city where the festival was.

As they got nearer, Jade gave her daughter a glance to which Shadow acknowledged and stood up straighter with her chin up and chest out just as she told her to do, even though she felt ridiculous doing so. But her mother felt it was classy and wanted her daughter to be classy as well.

Jade gazed over her daughter with love in her bright green eyes. "You look simply beautiful, my darling." She whispered to her, slowing down slightly.

Shadow looked up at her mother and then sheepishly stared at the ground, coughing slightly as she muttered, "I don't look THAT great…"

Suddenly she felt a soft gloved hand on her shoulder and she stopped and looked up in surprise. Her mother was standing over her, suddenly looking very angry or just serious.

Jade crouched down until she was about the height of her daughter and looked her dead in the eye. "You listen to me, my sweetie," She began, "you ARE beautiful and you are radiant and you are perfect. Anyone who says otherwise is just blind or jealous. Someday you will have boys kissing the ground you walk on and doing anything just to spend one moment with you. You remember that, precious. There is no reason for shyness or lack of confidence." She pressed her hand against her daughter's cheek and stroked it with her thumb, not taking her eyes off of Shadow's until she finally nodded.

Her mother's smile reappeared on her face as she stood back up and guided her daughter the rest of the way to the festival.

Shadow stared straight ahead of herself and blinked in thought. Was her mother right? Would boys really find her attractive? She never really noticed it before, but lately she caught boys her level staring at her direction every now and again…but never had she thought that they were actually staring at HER.

She had never been that confident in her looks, even though her mother reminded her over and over again that someday she would be practically worshipped. She wanted to believe her, but she just couldn't find it believable. Every time she looked in the mirror she didn't see anything special about her, apart from her bright green eyes.

Her thoughts were broken by her mother's voice. "Shadow? Did you hear what I just said?" Her voice was raised to be heard over the loud music that was now playing a slow song.

Shadow blinked a few times to comprehend where she was. She was in fact in the center of her city, although it was barely recognizable by the hundreds of couples that were dancing together around it, swaying their bodies along with the music and holding their lover's close. It was actually quite dark, the only thing causing a little bit of light being the many different colored candles that were lit up all around.

Shadow watched in awe as the people in front of her moved in synch along to the music, watching their partner's move along with them with love in their eyes. Shadow felt a slight jar in her heart and realized that she wished that someday she would find someone that looked at her that way too…someday.

"Shadow?" Her mother prompted her again.

Shadow looked up at her so fast her mother nearly jumped back in surprise. "Can I go now, mother? I want to get a drink." She glanced over at the table that sat a little ways away from the dancers with a large bowl full of punch and small glasses filled with wine beside it.

Her mother sighed in frustration before smiling and stroking her daughter's cheek again. "Oh, alright. Go have fun. If you see your father, tell him where I am!" She shouted after Shadow as she raced toward the punch bowl.

When Shadow reached the table, she swiped a glass that was already filled with punch and took a sip. She eyed the glasses of wine for a split second before shaking her head. Her mother would kill her if she even tasted it…

She stood by the table and continued to drink her punch, not really sure what else to do. She didn't recognize anyone in the crowd of dancers and right now a slow dance was playing and she had no partner.

She leaned against the table and closed her eyes with a long sigh. She couldn't help but wonder if anything her mother said was true about her. She shouldn't be shy or lack confidence? How could she not? Everything was so much bigger than her right now…then again if she was afraid of things being bigger than her how would she face opponents like dragons and other evil creatures on her adventures?

A smile cracked along her face as she thought of this. She wanted to be an adventurer since she was little. She talked to passing by adventurers whenever she could and listened to their stories and learned tips that could help her. She had made up her mind a long time ago and it wasn't changing. She was a level 3 now and she could leave any day now and start her dream. The only problem was her parents.

With her father's one leg, she felt she needed to stay and help her parents as much as she could. She was sure Ronaldo felt that way too since he was a level over Shadow and was still at home. She didn't want to leave until she was absolutely sure that her parents were well cared for.

"Um, hello?"

Shadow's eyes suddenly flew open and she had to grip the table to keep herself from tipping over. She had been so absorbed in her daydreaming that she practically forgot where she was.

In front of her was a boy about her level. He had blonde hair with little spikes in them and a wide smile as he said with a laugh, "Sorry, I thought this was where you get drinks, not sleep."

Shadow glared at him indignantly and stood straighter with a huff. "I wasn't sleeping!" She snapped at him. "I was…daydreaming…" She muttered, realizing very clearly how incredibly stupid she sounded right now.

The boy stared back at her through clear blue eyes. "Bored too, huh? Yeah, this party just has a bunch of old people dancing around probably drunk." He suddenly looked different like he had just got a brilliant idea and asked her slyly, "Hey, want to go somewhere more fun?" He winked at her.

Shadow grimaced and felt her hands beginning to shake as he stared at her, eagerly waiting for her answer. "Um…what kind of fun?" She gulped out, wishing she could back away from his hot breath but was already pressed against the side of the table.

He smiled even wider, this time more of a smile filled with amusement and he backed off slightly. "Don't worry; it's not THAT kind of fun. Follow me!" With that said, he was off. He went around a building further away from the party and Shadow looked after him uncertainly.

She made a quick glance toward her mother to see if she was watching her. Her mother was not in the same place she was before and Shadow's gaze darted around the many dancers before she finally spotted her mother with her father. They were both headed away from the excitement of the festival in the opposite direction Shadow wanted to go.

Shadow figured she didn't have much time to think of it and decided that tonight she would live a little, start adventuring, and she placed her drink on the table and ran after the boy behind the building, away from the festival.

Shadow was surprised when she saw the boy waiting ahead for her, looking back at her with a smile as she caught up to him. "Thought you were going to chicken out." He said.

Shadow lifted her head high smugly. "I don't chicken out. I'm going to be the best and bravest adventurer in Runescape someday."

The boy laughed at this. "Well good luck with that. Just try to keep up with me oh 'brave' adventurer." He then ran ahead once again down the trail leading farther away from Shadow's home city.

Shadow scoffed and made a move to follow him, but at once stumbled over a part of her dress and ripped a piece of it clean off. She growled softly to herself before ripping more of the dress off until it was short enough to cover her but not make her stumble and continued to make her way after the boy.

She suddenly found herself stepping onto unfamiliar ground and she looked around uncertainly. This place…she had heard about it but had never gone here herself. Her mother and father had warned her about coming here because people have gotten sick from it over the years. What was this place called again?

The ground was made out of gray soil and the crumbling old houses looked like they could collapse just by one touch. The very air itself smelled of sickness and fear. Shadow didn't like this place at all. Why were they here? What was so fun about coming to such a horrible place?

"Pretty neat, huh?" Shadow jumped and turned around in anger at the boy who seemingly popped out of nowhere.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She snapped at him crossly. "Why are we here anyway?" She continued to look around, trying to see if there was something, if anything interesting for them to do in this god's forsaken place.

The boy stepped up in front of her and lifted his head. "We are here to explore and to find adventure. You said you wanted to be an adventurer right?"

Shadow blinked at him. "Well…yeah. But isn't this place's air tainted with sickness?"

The boy snorted. "I don't believe the AIR is filled with sickness. I believe the people that live or did live here are so mentally retarded they think this place is cursed and so they infect their own brains, making themselves and others around them think this place is dangerous."

Shadow looked taken aback. "You've really given this a lot of thought haven't you?"

The boy shrugged even though a smug smirk was emerging on his face. "I got lots of time to think I guess. So, you ready to explore Witchaven or not?"

Shadow mentally snapped her fingers. That was what this place was called! "Where are we going?" She was beginning to feel excited now. Maybe they would be the first ones to discover something here and she would become famous before she even started her adventure.

The boy laughed and motioned her forward, leading her toward a leafier and more secluded part of the little rundown town. She followed him and he stepped aside to reveal…more leaves and foliage.

She opened her mouth to make a comment before he put his hand up to stop her and then began to brush away the leaves and plants that lied down on the ground in front of them.

Shadow's eyes grew wide as before her an open door leading underground suddenly appeared from under all the plants. "How did you find this?" She gasped at him, coming closer to the door to investigate.

"You can find a lot of this if you look hard enough." The boy told her. "I haven't gone too far down it yet because I didn't have all the supplies, but with two people I think we can manage it. Assuming that you can take care of yourself and I won't have to protect you?"

Shadow lifted her chin up and stared directly at him. "I can handle myself fine. I was just hoping that I wouldn't have to protect YOU." She raised an eyebrow.

The boy smirked at her and looked at her up and down. "The dress and the beret in your hair are just a little misleading."

Shadow frowned and at once tore the rose beret out of her hair, releasing the bun and letting her black hair flow freely past her shoulders. "Better mister fickle?"

The boy flashed a sly look. "You could lose the dress too." He said teasingly. At an angry glare from Shadow he smiled wider and shook his head fondly. "Come on; let's go in before anyone realizes we're missing."

Shadow made a move to follow him, but before she could she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as a loud bellowing split the air.

"CHARLES! What the HELL do you think you're DOING?" Shadow couldn't help but fall back to the ground and shrink back until she was practically hiding in the plants scattered around her.

A very tall, very large man with HUGE muscles stomped over to them in a huff. He had short blonde hair and had a long, red scar running down along the right side of his skull. He had a snake tattoo on his left arm and his eyes seemed to have no color but blackness in them.

"F-father!" The boy jumped up and planted his body between his father and Shadow, blocking her from his view. "What-what are you doing here?" He stammered.

"What am _I _doing here? Looking for my good for nothing excuse of a son, THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING HERE." He yelled at the top of his lungs. "I thought I told you NEVER to come here and here I find you DISOBEYING ME?"

The boy hung his head and Shadow could see that he was shaking now. "I-I-I'm sorry father. I just thought-"

"You THOUGHT?" He interrupted. "Charles, get back to the house or so help me I will beat your ass and lock you in the basement."

The boy's head shot up. "No! Father not again, please! I will never do this again, I swear-" He stopped talking as he suddenly made a choking sound and Shadow hopped back farther into the plants, completely hiding herself from view.

The father had grabbed the boy by his spikey hair now and was dragging him roughly away, with the boy kicking and making horrible pain filled noises.

Shadow stayed crouched in the plants until she was sure they were gone. She let out a shaky breath and looked at her hands. She was trembling mercilessly. Never before had she experienced such abuse from a father to his son.

She took deep breaths attempting to calm her before stepping out of the plants and looking around slowly. Everything seemed to be clear. She glanced toward the open door before shaking her head. Adventuring was the last thing on her mind right now. The moon was high in the sky and the festival would be ending soon. She needed to find her parents and get out of here.

She left her rose beret lying on the ground, vowing that tomorrow she would reclaim it before her mother even realized it was gone. She ran swiftly through the town, not taking her eyes off the towering buildings of her city.

As she grew nearer she realized it was much quieter than it had been before she left. Was the festival over? Did her parents realize she was gone?

Just as she reached the outside of the city, she stopped and looked down at her dress. It was torn, dirty, and muddy…her mother was going to kill her.

She briefly considered going back to the house and changing her clothes before her mother got a good look at her but decided against it. She just wanted to find her parents and forget the frightening scene she had just witnessed.

She hopped into the city and scanned around. There were only a few dancers left, dancing one last time to a song that was very calm and nearly silent. Around her other people were beginning to pack up the festival. Shadow must have made it just in time! But where were her parents?

"Shadow!" Her brother's voice called to her and she looked forward to see him running up to her. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Where have you-"He stopped and looked at her. "What the hell happened to you?"

Shadow shook her head. "Never mind the dress. Have you seen mother and father?"

Ronaldo bit the bottom of his lip. "I was hoping you knew where they were. I haven't seen them since father said he was going to find you guys."

"Well they have to be around here somewhere. They couldn't have gone too far. Come on, let's go." Shadow walked around her brother and chose a path to walk down.

Ronaldo chuckled quietly. "As slow as they walk I'm surprised they got outside of 10 feet from this place."

"This isn't the time for jokes!" She snapped at him.

"Would you relax? They have to be around here somewhere. As far as we know they might have already gone to the house."

"I just have a bad feeling. I just want to find them, go home, and forget this night ever happened." Her shaking had subsided a little now that she had her brother with her, but she wouldn't fully calm down until she had her parents by her side.

"Why are you acting like this? You're not a level 2 anymore, Shadow. You don't need mommy and daddy to take care of you." Ronaldo said harshly. What had pissed him off so much?

Shadow clenched her fists and sped up in an effort to get away from him. She'd look for her parents by herself if it meant getting away from her brother's attitude for a few seconds.

"Shadow? Where are you going?" He called after her. "Aw, come on I didn't mean it!" She ignored his cries and trotted away faster.

She found herself leaving the city's stone walkways and wandering farther and farther away from the heart of the city and more so the outskirts of it. Somehow she felt like something was calling her, like an invisible unknown force was leading her.

And it was scaring the hell out of her.

Why would she need leading? Why did she feel so terrified of what was to come? She felt her heart beating faster and was running now, her feet practically flying over the ground. Her hair flew freely in all directions, getting in her face and half blinding her for a few seconds at a time.

The moon was high in the sky and stars were beginning the dot the dark blue atmosphere. What time was it now? 11:00? 12:00? Too late for Shadow to be searching for her parents.

Finally she reached the outside of the city and she bent over, clutching her knees as she sucked in precious air. She had barely even felt the burning in her muscles or the screaming in her lungs for oxygen as she zoomed through the city.

Finally she got her breath back and she slowly stood up. At once she froze at the setting in front of her. The smell of blood was fresh in the wind and Shadow felt a shiver traveling up her spine.

She was facing a dark quiet area with a few trees. Without really comprehending what she was doing she stumbled numbly into the trees, slightly following the scent of blood as if she were a starving wolf looking for an easy meal.

After going a good few paces into the trees Shadow began to make out figures lying on the ground and she felt her blood freeze. She could make out distinctive shapes on the figures and she couldn't move. She made a choking sound with her throat, still not moving a muscle.

"Shadow!" Her brother's voice behind her was close, but felt so far away. As if it was coming from a different time zone or a different dimension.

"There you are." There was relief in Ronaldo's voice as he reached Shadow's side. "I thought you had-"His voice was cut off and Shadow knew without looking at him that he had seen what she was looking at…and had recognized what she had recognized.

"NO!" Ronaldo screamed to the heavens and back, pushed past Shadow, and crouched down at their mother and father's sides. Shadow couldn't take it anymore and felt hot tears sting her cheeks. She felt her legs give away beneath her and was forced to crawl to her parents.

She searched their bodies through glassy eyes. They were covered in blood with punctures in their necks and chests. Their clothes were torn as if they were fighting back whoever did this to them. The most heart breaking thing was their eyes that were still open, staring lifelessly up at the sky.

A movement caught Shadow's eye and she turned to see Ronaldo picking up an object. It was a dagger covered in blood.

Ronaldo slowly stood up, his teeth clenched and his eyes hard and filled with tears as he looked over the sharp object in his hands.

Before Shadow could even utter a word she suddenly heard a piercing yell into the night sky. "MURDERERS! MURDERERS!" The voice screamed over and over again.

Shadow and Ronaldo both swung their heads around, frantically looking for the source of the warning call, but it was already too late.

Shadow was closer to the city's grounds than she had previously thought as people began to charge toward them, their eyes widening and their faces filled with horrified expressions at the sight before them.

Shadow's fear gave strength back to her legs and she jumped away from her parent's dead bodies and yelled out, "NO! NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND-"

But her cries were drowned out as more and more people ran out from their homes and surrounded them, screaming for help and calling out for the guards.

Shadow was shaking, but she didn't know what to do. First there was the shock of her finding her parents dead and bleeding on the ground and now her brother and she were being accused of their murder. It was all too much!

Her heart was beating so rapidly she felt it was going to explode from her chest, and it didn't help when she heard the clank of the guard's armor as they were surely making their way toward them.

Shadow jumped as a sharp object landed inches from her foot and she looked up to see her brother had dropped the bloody dagger and was looking at her. "Shadow we need to run. Now."

"But we're innocent!" Shadow tried to reason with him through a shaky voice. "We just have to explain-"

"I SAID NOW!" Ronaldo shoved her ahead just as the guards came into view and Shadow ran with the force of a thousand horses with Ronaldo right behind her. She couldn't help but turn around hoping to get one last look of the people she had loved most in the whole world, but guards were blocking her view and Ronaldo yelled at her to keep running.

Her grief pierced her heart like the dagger had surely pierced her mother and father's chests, but Shadow's fear and confusion kept her running. She barely recognized the world around her. Everything looked so different. It was like they had entered a nightmare…except this was one they could not wake up from.

Ronaldo was running beside her now, helping her along whenever she stumbled and guiding her into shadows and smaller places that the guards, who were now pursuing them, could hopefully not squeeze into too easily.

"Ronaldo, what do we do?" Shadow cried to her brother through gasps of air and choked up tears.

Ronaldo didn't look at her at first, his eyes fixed straight on the path ahead of them. Finally after what seemed like hours he turned to Shadow. "We need to split up." He gasped out. "I'll lead the guards away from you and you run to the house. Hide under your bed and don't come out for ANYONE except me."

"I can't just leave you-!"

"I'll be fine." Ronaldo interrupted her. "Just trust me." He made one more glance behind them before saying. "Keep to the shadows. If any guards follow you, do all you can to get rid of them before getting inside the house. Go!"

Shadow and Ronaldo at the same time swerved to the right and the left, running even faster than before without looking back until they were far enough away from each other.

Without turning around Shadow could tell there were still a few guards on her tail, so she stuck to the shadows of trees and buildings, using the night to her advantage.

After a few moments had passed she could not hear the yelling of the guards or clank of their armor anymore and she chose a building and stopped beside it, making sure she was completely emerged in the darkness. Her breaths came out ragged and full of coughs, but she couldn't worry about that now. She had to get to her house.

She breathed in one more time and took off running, using mainly instinct to guide her through the darkness toward her house. She was close now. She could just out the fence that enclosed their sheep and could hear their baaing. What would happen to them now?

Shadow jumped over the pavement, passed their nearby bank, and finally reached her house. She yanked at the doorknob but it wouldn't budge. Locked…

Shadow took a deep breath to calm her better before shoving her finger into the lock and opening it after a few seconds fiddling with it. She had learned to do this a long time ago after she had kept getting herself locked out. She was surprisingly good at it.

She opened the door and slammed it behind her and, without thinking to lock it, ran through the rooms of her house and dived under her bed.

She curled herself up until she was neatly tucked away from view. She rested her head on the floor and let air flow back through her body. This night was literally hell.

She gripped the sides of her head and pressed her face into the wooden floor, sobbing loudly. Her whole body shook from the amount of tears she was allowing to flow. How could this happen? How could this happen to her family? Why couldn't it be someone else? WHAT HAD THEY DONE TO DESERVE THIS?

She continued crying for over half an hour, at times muttering words like 'mommy' or 'no…' or just a plain 'why?'

Finally feeling some of her pain beginning to ease now that she had let it out in some way, Shadow propped herself upright and waited for her brother more quietly.

After a while Shadow heard the creak of her front door open and she secluded herself even farther under her bed. Had the guards figured out who they were? Had they come to her house to execute her?

"Shadow?" The quiet whisper of her brother made her body shudder with relief and she popped her head out from under her bed.

"I'm in here!" She called out to Ronaldo, painfully noting the rasp in her voice from crying for so long.

Ronaldo ran into her room and shut the door behind him. "Did any of them follow you?" He asked Shadow while crawling over to the window and peeking out.

Shadow cleared her throat. "A few, but I lost them a while ago. I've been here for over half an hour."

Feeling satisfied that no one was outside Ronaldo ducked back down and crouched beside his sister. "You ok?" He asked her. "Your face is all red." He observed.

Shadow's first instinct was to put on a brave face and pretend that she hadn't been crying for the past 30 minutes. But that instinct was crushed by the need for comfort and the fear for what was going to happen next. Without really processing what she was doing, Shadow dove forward and embraced her brother, clutching him tightly and pressing her face against him. "I'm scared, Ronaldo." Shadow admitted in a whisper.

She felt her brother respond to her reaching out for security and he wrapped his arms around her. "I know. But everything's going to be ok. I'll get us through this, alright?" Even though his words were brave, his voice had broken halfway through his speech.

Shadow felt fresh tears surface in her eyes, but she bit them back. She had to have courage now. She had to face this alongside her brother.

A few awkward moments seemed to pass before Ronaldo cleared his throat and slowly let go of Shadow. "I've had some time to think before I came here and I think we should-"He suddenly stopped talking.

"What-?"Shadow stopped mid-question as she suddenly heard it too. The front door was slowly creaking open.

Ronaldo shoved her under the bed and crept over to the closed door they were beside. He lifted his eye to the peephole in the door and Shadow watched him tense up.

Shadow felt her palms beginning to sweat and she held her breath.

But all at once Ronaldo relaxed and opened the door to Shadow's surprise. "Ruby!" Ronaldo's voice was filled with pure relief.

"Ruby?" Shadow gasped out. She scrambled out from under her bed and practically slammed into the redhead in the next room, hugging her mother's best friend tightly.

"Thank the gods you're both here." Ruby said quietly. Her voice was dull and Shadow knew with a pang that she had heard about her parents. "The guards are looking everywhere for you two!"

"Have they figured out we're here yet?" Ronaldo asked her.

"No. But it's only a matter of time-"

"We didn't kill them!" Shadow blurted out, unable to take it anymore. "Please believe us. We found them both dead and lying on the ground and bleeding. We could never kill them! Why does everyone think we're murderers?" Shadow ended in a harsh whisper.

Ruby shook her head sadly. "Of course I believe you. I know that you loved your parents more than anything and could NEVER hurt them. But we can't worry about this just yet. I'm taking you both to my house. They've already searched it and it should be safe for now until we can figure out what to do with you two."

Ronaldo blinked at her. "But by doing this you're putting yourself at just as much risk as we're in…"

Ruby nodded solemnly. "I know. But I can't just sit back and watch Jade's children be proclaimed as murderers and be sent to be hung. I would rather die before I let that happen." Her word's sent a calming chill throughout Shadow. As long as she believed they were innocent, maybe others would too.

"Now come. We must hurry." Ruby pushed them both out of the house and shut the door behind her. She continued herding them away and Shadow couldn't help but look back at her house one last time.

It looked different. It looked darker and emptier. It was as if it were grieving for what happened and was yet to come just as she was.

Nothing would ever be the same again would it?

* * *

Shadow blinked open her eyes.

Her face felt hot and tear stained as if she had been crying. She slowly looked around the room and tried to remember where she was.

She was lying on the floor and just above her sat Midnight. She was staring back at her steadily, standing up after noticing Shadow's movements. Across the table Midnight was sitting beside was Gypsy Aris.

She was back at the tent.

Her senses rushing back to her, Shadow quickly rubbed her face to erase any trace of crying. Had her tears actually broke the barrier between memory and reality? Had Midnight seen anything?

"You alright?" Midnight asked, putting out her hand to help Shadow up.

Shadow cleared her throat in fear that it would accidently break. "Yeah. No problem." She accepted the Soulless' hand and got to her feet. Her head started to spin and she grabbed it before turning to the gypsy.

"You are a very twisted lady." She stated simply to Aris, who merely chuckled and nodded as if she already knew this.

"You're not the first one to tell me this, child. Tell me, were you able to find the memory that you were searching for?" She asked her.

Shadow's eyes darkened as she suddenly recalled her memory. Her heart felt dull and her throat dried up so much that all she could do was nod.

Aris entwined her skinny fingers together. "Was it not what you expected?"

Shadow looked away and allowed her hair to fall over her face. "It WAS what I expected. There was just a part of me that wished that I would be wrong." She added in a whisper before flicking her hair back and addressing the gypsy in a louder voice. "Thanks for your help. The…" she swiftly glanced up at the crystal stars hanging above her, "stars be with you..." She finished awkwardly and exited through the tent flap.

She heard Midnight make an odd grunting sound before following behind her. The Soulless said nothing as she walked beside Shadow.

Shadow's gaze didn't leave the ground until they were far enough away from the tent and near the heart of the party that was still going on as strong as ever. It was as if the memory only lasted 5 minutes in real time…but to Shadow it felt like she had spent hours under the spell of her own self-conscious.

She felt a sudden nudge and looked up to see Midnight nodding in a certain direction. Shadow followed her gaze and felt a smirk twitch in the corner of her mouth.

April had apparently returned, now wearing a skinny purple dress that at least hid more than her previous attire, and was dancing around with a mug of beer in one hand. Shadow guessed it wasn't her first one. Her brother, Argon, was glaring in a corner farther in the distance as he watched guys ogling and fighting to be the first ones to dance with his sister.

"You don't have to follow me around." She told Midnight. "If you want to go have fun with April and Argon I'm not stopping you."

Midnight shrugged. "It's getting late and I'm tired. If you're heading back I might as well too."

Shadow didn't even bother trying to argue. She was tired too and had had a long day. She just wanted to curl up in her bed and try to dream a happy nonrealistic dream like a normal person. She had also wanted to be alone for a while but apparently that wasn't going to happen…

Shadow and Midnight both walked together in an awkward silence back to the guild. Shadow wondered what Midnight was thinking. Could she tell something was up? Did she have some crazy physic power that she never told her about…could she read her mind right now?

They stayed quiet until they reached their room. Shadow sat on her bed and massaged her face, trying to ease the headache she now felt from hitting the ground because of that damn sleeping powder. She went to the gypsy looking for answers…and she found them.

But was it the right decision? Maybe some memories weren't worth remembering. After all, she must have locked them away in her mind for a reason. Her mind started going into turmoil. She suddenly felt like she needed to talk to someone. She couldn't keep carrying this weight on her own!

She suddenly looked up and stared across the room. Midnight was on her own bed with her secret book that she wouldn't let anyone else near. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was moving as she muttered words while her hands hovered above her open book. This was a nightly routine done by the Soulless.

Shadow hesitated and took a deep breath. "Midnight?" The Soulless stopped moving her mouth but didn't open her eyes so Shadow just kept talking. "I know we never talk about our pasts, but dammit if I don't tell anyone this I think I might explode." She paused, waiting for a reaction.

Surprisingly enough, she got one. Midnight opened her eyes and turned to look at her. "I figured this was coming. You were mumbling words in your sleep and your face was turning red as if you were…" She stopped talking awkwardly. She then shut her book with force and all together faced her almost angrily.

"Why do you insist on being friends with me?" She suddenly demanded. "I'm not someone you can easily become friends with, yet you've tried for 6 months. I can't feel pity or make you feel happiness if I myself can't feel happiness. So why bother trying?"

Shadow blinked back steadily. "I believe you CAN be a friend. You may not be able to show or feel emotions, but I can tell that your heart hasn't forgotten about them. The small things that you do, a twitch of your face or a waver in your gaze convinces me this is true." She took a breath. "Besides…you're more of a friend to me than you realize. No, you don't feel pity and you're incapable of making me smile but when the few times come, you LISTEN and you UNDERSTAND. That's what makes you a friend to me."

Midnight didn't say anything at first, almost as if she were taken aback, though her expressionless gaze gave nothing away. Finally she stared at the floor and mumbled, "thank you."

Shadow felt this was as good a time as any to spill her guts. "I've never had a real friend before. I was born in a solitude farm house with my parents and my brother. The memory that I just relived tonight confirmed my suspicions of how my brother and I came to be the way we were. When I was a level 3 and my brother a level 4, our parents were murdered in cold blood. Apparently the murderer had dropped his dagger and my brother picked it up. Right afterwards we were suddenly depicted as murderers and no matter what we said to deign it no one believed us. We had to go into hiding and my mother's friend Ruby took us in until someone tipped us off and we had to run away all together from where we grew up at. We never found out who the real murderer of our parents was or who first accused us of murdering them."

Midnight had lifted her head once again halfway through the story and had listened intently. When Shadow finished, Midnight shut her eyes and sat back on her bed. "I knew what it was like to lose someone you cared about deeply."

Shadow couldn't help but widen her eyes. Was Midnight really going to share HER past? "I'm not asking you to reciprocate." She couldn't help say before she continued any further.

Midnight's eyes suddenly flashed open and her pale face almost seemed to show color. "I'm not asking permission. You unburdened your own troubles; I believe it would be only fair to unburden mine."

Shadow sat up straighter and nodded as Midnight dove into her own story.

"I was born in a little house with my mother and my sister. My father was never around, really. My sister disappeared when we were both very young. She was always sneaking out. When I was old enough to leave my house and start my life I decided to search for my sister. I searched for years all around Runescape, but I never found her. I became known as the 'crazy girl' who was obsessed with looking for her sister that was presumed dead a long time ago. I became so obsessed that I was slowly losing my mind. The pain was becoming so bad that every night turned into a battle just to come up with reasons not to kill myself. I had all but ruined my own life in my search so save my sisters that was surely already over years ago. So I did what I had to do."

Shadow listened to her friends' words very carefully. She had mentioned 'pain' and Shadow knew now for a fact that this was back before Midnight was a Soulless. "What did you do?" She prompted.

"In order to save my own life, I decided to take the advice of someone I met on my travels. He was exactly like I am now, a Soulless. He was going through similar chaos I was going through and told me how he became cured." She sucked in a large amount of air. "There is this being deep in the Wilderness that feeds on the souls of humans. She is as smooth as a snake and cunning as a fox. She can get inside your head and tell you exactly what you want to hear. Just her name, the Soul-eater, should have made me rethink my decision. But I was desperate, so I went to her and asked for her help. She told me that I would never feel pain again…she neglected to mention that I would never feel ANYTHING again. She claimed my soul and made me how I am now. She basically made me her own little puppet, like all the other souls she took. Not only had I been cursed rather than cured, but the empty space inside of me that my soul used to inhabit was overtaken by some kind of monster. Whenever I became angry, a dark side of me took over and I couldn't control what I did. The book that you see me read and meditate by is the only thing that controls this beast inside of me."

Shadow had clenched her teeth so hard she felt like they would crumble away any second. "Why didn't you ever get the Soul-eater to take back the curse?" She whispered.

"You don't think I tried? I demanded so many times that she take back this-this-…HELL. She refused every time, simply telling me all decisions were final."

Shadow shut her eyes tight. "What is this horrible creature?"

"I don't really know what she is. She takes on the shape of a giant banshee."

Shadow tightened her hands into fists until they turned pale. "Does this…thing have a name?"

Midnight made an odd sound through her throat. "Of course she does. I'll never forget her name. It's one I curse every single night…her name is Bellvor."

Just like that Shadow decided something. It was a rash decision and probably not very smart but she was going to do it.

She was going to seek out this Bellvor and demand that she give back Midnight's soul. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**Finally, we find out more about Midnight's past!**

**Even though this is one day late, Merry Christmas guys! Hope you guys have an awesome new year :)**

**The final decisions are made and my co-author and I now know EXACTLY where this story is going…all we/I have to do is write it. Thanks for being so patient and I swear I'm writing as fast as I can. In my defense, you guys are getting REALLY long chapters.**

**REVIEW!**


	15. Truth and Lies

Chapter 15 

* * *

Truth and Lies 

* * *

"Why do you want a day's vacation, exactly? Isn't it a vacation in itself that you have somewhere you can live in peace?"

Shadow clenched her teeth. It was the morning after the festival and she was asking Mazchna permission to leave the guild for at least a day. She figured this was going to be a difficult task. Many of the guild's top slayers were either too tired to do their jobs well or were too hung-over to get out of bed.

"I just need ONE day. That's all I'm asking for." Shadow insisted. "I promise you; by this time tomorrow I'll be back here ready to work twice as hard." She flashed him a big smile, hoping it looked convincing.

Mazchna stared steadily at her through his yellow eyes. "Need I remind you you're a group leader now? I can't just let you go off doing the gods know what at the gods know where."

"It's not far from here! In fact, it's right next to Varrock."

"I thought Varrock was the exact reason why you came here in the first place." He narrowed his eyes at her.

Shadow's gaze flicked away from the demon before quickly looking back. "It's one of the many reasons. I'm not actually going INTO Varrock. Can I go or not?" She asked impatiently.

Mazchna stared at her for a long while before sighing deeply and turning away. "Very well. You have until this time tomorrow to return here in one piece or you'll be downgraded to an apprentice for two weeks."

Shadow didn't wait for him to change his mind. She nodded at him and ran for the door.

"Try not to get yourself killed!" She heard him call after her. She stopped outside of the door in surprise. Did he know what she was going to try to do? She shook her head. How could he? He could only see her past if he wanted to…and that was bad enough.

Shadow made a move to get to the entrance of the guild, but stopped to think. Going in the Wilderness without any armor or weapons was pure suicide. She had never been in it herself but she heard rumors. She heard of brave adventurers going in and never returning and ghostly creatures called Revenants although most of them were claimed to be extinct…no one really knew why. The worst rumor of all told about a huge, deadly creature called the Corporeal Beast. It lived underground and it is said that it is the heart of the Wilderness.

Legend claimed that the Wilderness used to be a beautiful place, filled with life and grass and flowers. But then the people of Runescape had gotten greedy and tore up this beautiful place, making it the charred landscape it is today. The spirit of the Wilderness, the Corporeal Beast, was so angry that it grew a hatred for humans. It would kill any that crossed its path and then feed them to the remaining life of the Wilderness.

Shadow felt a shiver run up her spine. She couldn't just run into this dangerous place blindly. She would need to get supplies…and that required asking Mazchna for permission. She turned around to knock on his door again and lifted her fist…then she slowly put it down.

Why bother asking permission? Mazchna already knew she was going on some kind of mission. He probably wouldn't even notice if a couple pieces of armor or her trusty whips were gone. Besides, they were HER whips. She had them hidden safely in her room. Hopefully Midnight wasn't there right now…

As Shadow headed for her room, her thoughts flew to the Soulless. She hadn't told her anything about her ambitions. She figured Midnight would try to stop her or talk her out of it. But nothing could talk her out of helping out her friend. It would be nice to do at least ONE good thing in her life…

She curved around one more turn in the tunnels and reached her door. She stood absolutely still outside of it and let her thieving senses take over. She didn't feel any footsteps on the other side or hear any breathing beside her own. She opened the door a crack and looked inside.

The room was empty and Midnight had made her bed which always meant she had gone to wash up. Her book was placed neatly on her pillow.

Shadow shuddered as she looked at it. Now that she knew what it was for, it just gave her a weird feeling. This book was really the only thing that kept Midnight from turning into some kind of beast? Shadow had only seen a glimpse of it and that was bad enough.

Shadow walked over to her own bed, which was looking messy and recently slept in as always, and crouched down. She dug her hands under it and yanked out a box. She opened it and inside was her blue coiled up whips. She had to hide them like this. Slayers WERE allowed to have their weapons customized, but they still had to stay with Mazchna on his weapon rack.

Shadow though that was a dumb rule. She felt safer having her weapons somewhere she could get them fast if need be. Maybe it was her old thieving instincts taking over, the need to be prepared if anything unsuspected happened and she needed to protect herself?

Shadow wrapped the whips around her covered up wrists. That life was behind her now. She had a good thing going here. Well sure she was leaving it behind, but only for a day to help out a friend. It wasn't like she was visiting her old gang. She was going to stay as far away from Varrock as possible.

Shadow took a deep breath and stood back up. She walked toward the door and muttered a prayer to no one in particular. She WAS going to come back. And she WAS going to succeed. So what was with this knot in her stomach?

Then again she was going to come face to face with a creature called the Soul-eater…

But this was all for a good cause. She just needed to keep telling herself that.

Feeling a surge of determination, she cracked her neck from side to side and returned to the maze of tunnels that made up her slayer guild, heading toward where she knew Mazchna kept all the armor.

* * *

"Gods this place is creepy…"

Shadow had muttered the comment as quietly as possible and it still echoed eerily around her.

After Shadow had expertly taken some Verac armor, she went to the inn in Canifis and purchased, not STOLEN, some dark robes with a hood that covered her face nicely.

She hated having to dress like this again, but she felt better with them on. It wasn't only to make absolutely sure that no one would recognize her when she passed Varrock, but also for when she came face to Banshee face with Bellvor.

After she had safely passed by Varrock without any interruption and hopped over the border between Varrock and the Wilderness, she ventured into the darker parts of the creepy woods and that's when she realized something.

"Where the hell is this thing?" Shadow growled out loud. Her voice once again bounced around the still air and Shadow's gaze flicked from side to side, fully expecting something to jump out at her from the shadows and start biting her face.

Midnight had never actually given her any specific instructions or clues as to where this thing was. What was she thinking? Trotting into the Wilderness without any map or sense where she was going! Was she the stupidest person in all of Runescape?

Shadow groaned and stopped walking. She dropped down on the ground and ran her hand over her face in an exasperated manner. She was just glad she had stayed in a straight line, otherwise she'd be totally and utterly screwed-

A sudden rustle in front of her made her bolt upright. The rustle was becoming increasingly louder and Shadow wielded her double whips and took a battle stance. "Who's there?" she shouted into the woods.

A dry laugh answered her and Shadow relaxed slightly as an old man with a long white beard hobbled out of the darkness and stopped in front of her.

"You just relax young'un. I ain't here looking for a fight." The old man chuckled, putting up his hands and flashing his mouth filled with rotten teeth.

Shadow lowered her whips but didn't put them away. "Then what ARE you doing here, old man?" She glared at him. "This isn't exactly the best place for an evening stroll."

The old man shrugged his boney shoulders. "Maybe it is, maybe it ain't. After all the revenants disappeared the only things you really have to worry about are them young, no good thieving adventurers hoping to make a quick buck. I remember back when I was just like them, thinking it was all fun and games until this one day…"

Shadow spaced out as this old man continued talking; screwing up her face as the rank breath of this old timer suddenly hit her. How long was it since he had brushed? His breath smelled like he had just gargled 10 kegs of onion juice.

"…and that was only the beginning. Hoo-ha! After that encounter I swore on my life that I would never agree to anything while drunk again…but I did. So then…"

Shadow rolled her eyes. Didn't he ever shut up? What the hell was going on anyway? Why was this rambling old man just taking a walk in the Wilderness?

"Well that's all very interesting," Shadow stopped him through gritted teeth, "but I really need to get going. Things to do and people to see, you know." Shadow waved him away as she sidestepped him and continued forward, not giving him a chance to stop her.

"Wait young lass! Don't you want to know where Bellvor resides?"

Shadow stopped.

She slowly turned around gave him a questioning look. "How-?"

"Suddenly this old man ain't so crazy, huh?" The old man chuckled again, snorting between laughs.

"No, now you're just creepy." Shadow whispered under her breath, remembering too late that sounds echo through these gods' forsaken woods.

If the old man DID hear her, he didn't make any mention of it. "I've been walking these charred woods long enough to know an adventurer on a mission when I see one and young lady you fit the biscuit. Now come, follow me." With newfound energy he bounced forward and passed her in a few strides.

"I fit the what?" Shadow asked, still trying to comprehend what the hell just happened. Had she passed the border into the Wilderness or into Crazy town? Either way she was ready to leave this hellhole.

"Quickly now. Follow me." The old man motioned her forward, jumping up and down like a rabbit on drugs.

Shadow shook her head to clear it before running after the old man who was surprisingly fast.

While skirting around trees and avoiding ditches, Shadow once again questioned her sanity as she took in exactly what she was doing. She was following a crazy old hopping man, that for some reason knew where she was going, she had found in the WILDERNESS to a Soul-eater she was going to ask to give back a soul…sounded perfectly reasonable.

Then again who said her life made any sense?

"Well, here we are." It seemed like hours before the old man finally halted. Shadow tumbled to a halt beside him and bended over to catch her breath.

"How…do you…do that?" She asked between gasps of sweet air.

The old man cocked his head at her. "Do what?" He asked, completely oblivious to the fact he just ran about 100 miles per hour.

After she got back her breath, she stood upright again. "How do you run so fast? Are you on something?" She questioned him.

The man sneered. "Ever think maybe I'm not fast, but rather you're just getting slower since you left your gang?"

Shadow narrowed her eyes. "How do you know anything about me?" She took a step toward him. "Who are you?"

Just like that, the frail old man suddenly started to change color. He became paler and paler until he was completely see-through. And to Shadow's complete shock he started to float!

"You're a ghost." Shadow blinked up at him. It wasn't really a question unless there was some other explanation that an old guy suddenly became see-through and gained the ability to fly.

The thing levitating in front of her smiled. "You're close. I'm a soul. Ghosts can't become flesh when they please. If they're dead, they're dead."

"Are you a soul Bellvor claimed?" Shadow forced her voice to stay steady. Somehow being in the presence of a soul without an owner gave her chills.

The soul's smile disappeared and it suddenly turned serious. "I am. Somewhere in this world there is a Soulless that is still young just wandering around. It used to be my owner, but now I belong to a higher power that was gracious enough to spare me. The soul's that she spares still age just like they would do with a body until eventually they vanish. Poof. Just like that. One might say it was equivalent to actually dying."

"Soulless don't age? They stay the same age as when their souls were claimed?"

"Correct. Without a soul, you cannot die. That's just the natural order of things. Although I suppose you might as well be dead seeing as you can't emotionally feel. Quite sad, really."

Shadow felt her heart ache in a way it hadn't before. Was that how Midnight felt every day? Like she was dead in a living, breathing body?

"What does Bellvor do with the souls she doesn't spare?" Shadow continued to ask.

The soul shrugged and turned around so it wasn't facing her. "Nothing you need to worry about. Just know that only the strongest souls are spared. Only THEY are worthy enough to do her bidding."

"Her bidding? What does she have you do?" Shadow felt a cold chill run down her spine as she asked this.

She planted her feet in the ground as the floating soul outright turned its head all the way around without turning its body around and looked at her with a wicked smile. "Why, bring fresh souls to meet her of course."

Shadow noticed its eyes were beginning to glow in a very weird way and she pulled her hood lower across her face and stared at the ground. "Then take me to her as you said you were."

"I already have. It's right through there." Shadow flicked her gaze upwards just long enough to see the soul's ghastly finger pointed ahead of them.

Shadow followed his finger and turned around. She only just now realized they were standing right in front of a very creepy looking path. The charred trees that dotted all around the Wilderness woods were lined up on both sides of a distinguished path through the woods filled with fog and the vulgar smell of rotting flesh.

"I have to go in THERE?" Shadow wrinkled her nose.

"It's not as bad as it looks…or smells. Just a quick walk and then you're there." Shadow bit down hard on her lip as she felt the souls whisper directly in her ear.

"I'm where, exactly?" She kept her voice loud and strong even though she swore she was starting to shake. What was wrong with her?

"Bellvor's lair. You can't miss it. It's the only thing there after all." The soul suddenly cackled in her ear loudly and Shadow jumped away from him, turning around only to see it was no longer there.

She was definitely shaking now. She stood in front of the pathway for a few moments until she calmed herself down.

Shadow took one more deep breath and let it out slowly. "Get a grip, Shadow." She mumbled under her breath. "Nothing here can hurt you."

She readjusted her cloak one more time before entering the chilling pathway.

The air immediately felt different. The Wilderness felt cold enough due to the fact that the sun never touched it, but this was a different kind of cold. This was the kind of cold you felt when you touched a dead body. Right now Shadow felt like she was touching 1000 dead bodies…

"OH GODS!" Shadow yelled as she suddenly felt something wrap around her leg. She took out her whips and jumped to get away from whatever was touching her. As she jumped, she whipped vaguely at the ground only to find out there was nothing there to whip. It was just charred earth.

Shadow sighed and wrapped her whips around her arms once again. "I'm slowly losing my mind."

She continued walking, but paid close attention to the ground beneath her feet. She was SURE she felt what felt like a cold hand wrap around her leg and pull at it.

She couldn't wait to get out of this horrible place.

* * *

"Just a quick walk? Note to self: don't listen to creepy souls ever again."

Truthfully it wasn't that much of a walk. But the creepy atmosphere mixed with the increasing feeling of being watched was becoming overpowering. The pathway felt like it went on for miles.

"How could she ever feel this terrible to willingly walk through this place?" Shadow thought out loud. Midnight must have really screwed up her life if she went through with all this. How could anyone possibly be this unhappy? Her life was far from perfect, but never in a million years would she give up her own SOUL just for the slim chance that someone could make it better...would she?

She stopped.

In front of her was a tall archway that led to an open spaced area. The archway was made out of dried branches and decaying leaves. In front of Shadow there were bones scattered around her feet. Skulls were stuck on sticks and placed in the ground, making the place even more eerie looking.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "This definitely looks like where a Soul-eater would live." She commented in a low voice. She stiffened as her breath actually showed in front of her and she realized just how cold it had become.

Shadow gritted her teeth and walked through the archway with her head held high. She needed to remember her mission. She needed to remember who she was. She was Shadow. She wasn't afraid of anything; especially not a giant Banshee that hurt her friend.

Shadow looked around where she was. It was a completely opened space area with smooth stone underneath her feet. She was standing on a giant stone circle! Even the trees above her were positioned around the circle so that the black sky could show through, also resembling a circle from where she was standing.

"Where the hell am I?" Shadow muttered, still looking up at the sky.

BONG! BONG! BONG!

Shadow dropped to the ground and clutched her hands over her ears. She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes to keep herself from screaming out at the great pain she was feeling.

The noise she was hearing was utterly HORID. It sounded like it was a cross between an extremely high pitched screech and the clang of a giant bell. It was literally making Shadow's ears bleed and it took every ounce in her body not to faint from the sound vibrating throughout her body.

Finally it stopped…or she went deaf. Shadow opened her eyes and slowly lifted her hands from her ears. Not that it did any good. The ringing in her ears kept her from hearing anything at the moment.

Shadow eased herself up and shook her head, making her hood slide off. She stuck a finger in her ear and twirled it around. The ringing was only just starting to subside, but Shadow felt extremely vulnerable. Being a thief for as long as she had been she learned to trust her sense of hearing and touch more than her sense of sight. She felt pretty much blind at this moment.

She focused on her sense of feeling, letting her feet see for her. But was shocked when she suddenly felt something grab them!

She tried to let a yell escape from her throat, but was cut off when the same thing or THINGS yanked her to the ground and gripped her mouth. She tried to struggle away from them but more and more of them were getting a strong hold of her. She could see what was holding her down now. About 10 ghostly hands were shooting from the ground and grabbing her, holding her down and gagging her.

She was trapped.

Shadow could only vainly struggle as the ground beneath her slowly started to crumble away as she was dragged down through it. The ground was opening up until it was a gaping hole that she was sinking in to.

She tried to reach the whips wrapped around her wrists, but her hands were being held firmly to the crumbling ground.

She stopped struggling as something suddenly popped into her head. The hands clearly looked ghostly. They most likely belonged to souls and the souls must be taking her to Bellvor! Midnight never mentioned this 'fun' part of her journey…

Shadow finally felt the hands let go of her and before she knew what hit her, she fell downward and landed with a thud on the ground in what she could only assume was an underground cave.

"Screw you!" she jumped up and yelled up at the hands as they disappeared and the hole that she fell from closed up above her.

"Welcome, young soul."

Shadow couldn't help but shiver. The sound hit her ears like a gust of wind. She quickly pulled her hood back up and turned around to face the owner of the chilling voice.

In front of her sat the biggest Banshee she ever saw in her life.

The cave itself was fairly small, but had a tall roof and this creature practically touched the top. Her form was basically a giant Banshee, as Midnight had said. She was white and gray and floated in the air like a spirit. Her ghostly body moved like a faint breeze. Her head was a normal Banshee head, only much larger. And her eyes…there were none.

She sat on top of what looked like a giant throne made out of bones and skulls and around her were even more bones scattered around her.

She was smiling a wicked smile and Shadow could glimpse sharp, pointed teeth in her mouth.

Shadow forced her skin to harden and she faced Bellvor without a hint of fear in her voice as she said, "I'm not going to drag this on or formally introduce myself. I'm not like the other people that come here and beg you for 'help'. I've come here to demand something back that you have taken long ago."

Bellvor took her sweet time replying as her long, black claws rested underneath her chin. Her wicked smile never left her ugly face. "You do not need to introduce yourself." Every time she talked, Shadow shivered. Her voice came out as a low ghastly whisper that seemed to pierce her soul. "I know who you are."

Shadow narrowed her eyes. "How the hell would you know anything about me?" Then she suddenly remembered how the soul knew who she was.

"Why, you poor unfortunate soul," Bellvor suddenly got up from her throne and started to slowly float around Shadow. "I know everything about everyone that steps into my woods. I know their deepest secrets, their deepest fears…" she paused and stopped in front of Shadow. She lowered her head until it was level with Shadow's and hissed, "and every blood chilling moments of their pasts."

Shadow didn't flinch, which even surprised HER. Bellvor was clearly blind, but the dark holes where her eyes should be seemed like they bore into every square inch of her memory and her heart.

She stepped back slightly as Bellvor opened her mouth and took a deep breath. She floated back upright with her smile still glued to her face. "You have a very interesting smell…" She whispered.

Shadow narrowed her eyes. "Thanks? I think."

"You have a very strong soul. It has been a while since I've felt that scent on my tongue." She took another breath, clearly enjoying the smell of Shadow.

Shadow stared at her for a few seconds before shaking her head. "I didn't come here for you to smell me. I came to talk."

Bellvor lifted a giant clawed hand. "We are talking." She pointed out. "You've just yet to tell me what you wanted."

"I thought you knew all." Shadow said suspiciously. "If that they true, don't you already know what I've come here for?"

Bellvor's smile grew wider. "I know that you are here to ask me for something you cannot have."

Shadow shook her head in frustration. Why must everything this thing says be a riddle? "Do you remember a girl named Midnight?" she blurted out. "She came to you years ago."

"Of course I remember her; the poor unfortunate soul. She was being torn up from the inside out and I helped her."

"You're a liar." Shadow pointed an accusing finger at her. "You made her life a living hell by taking away her soul. You told her you would help her, but all you did was made it worse."

Bellvor floated calmly. "I told her I would make it so she would never feel pain again. I was true to my word."

"You just happened to neglect giving her the full story?" Shadow arched an eyebrow. "You just forgot to mention that she would never feel ANYTHING again?" Her temper was gradually rising.

"I only assumed she would know. It was HER decision, after all." Bellvor's calm, hushed tone was beginning to make Shadow's blood boil. "I will save you the trouble of asking. You may not have your friend's soul back. All decisions are final-"

"Damn you!" Shadow shouted. "You're a WITCH. You're an evil spirit. You have no right to deny someone what is rightfully theirs."

Bellvor clicked her claws together. "If you wish to talk about rights, then allow me to explain something to you. I do not have the power to forcefully claim souls. The owners must willingly give me them. In return I grant them freedom from their emotions. Your little friend willingly gave me her soul years ago. So, rightfully, her soul belongs to me now."

Shadow felt her temper snap.

She wielded her whips and ran toward the creature in front of her with a yell of pure outrage. How dare this arrogant Banshee refuse to give back something that was not hers to take in the first place?

Shadow lifted up her whips, but before she could strike she felt the same ghostly hands wrap around her legs and caused her to fall on the ground, dropping the whips.

Shadow growled loudly and tried to stand up but the soul hands held her firmly to the ground.

Bellvor approached her until she was floating over her. "I do apologize for my souls' behavior. But they only wish to not see you get hurt."

"I bet they do." Shadow spit at her.

Bellvor snapped her claws and the hands disappeared back into the ground. Shadow grabbed her whips and stood up again. She wrapped the whips back around her wrists and focused on calming herself down.

"There," Bellvor smirked, "now maybe we can have a rational conversation."

"There's nothing to discuss." Shadow growled. "I've come here for my friend's soul and I'm not leaving until you agree to give me it." To prove her point, Shadow stomped her feet into the dirt and crossed her arms.

Bellvor looked even more amused. "You poor unfortunate soul…" she stopped and then tensed like a thought just struck her. "I'll tell you what. How much are you willing to sacrifice for your friend? Are you willing to…trade?"

Shadow stood her ground. "What do you want?" she asked even though she was sure she already knew the answer.

"Oh, nothing much." Bellvor crossed her skinny ghostly arms. "Just your own soul."

"NO WAY!" Shadow replied at once. "There's nothing in this world that would make me give you my soul."

Bellvor's tongue snaked out of her mouth and slowly ran across her pointed teeth. "Nothing?"

"Nothing."

A small wisp of air circled around Shadow and made her shiver. Why would there be a breeze underground?

"Tell me young soul," Bellvor began slowly, "how much has your little friend told you about her past? Has she really explained to you the horrible pain that caused her to seek my help?"

Shadow rolled her eyes. Was she serious? "Of course she has."

"So you know all about the night she went insane, I assume?"

Shadow tensed and didn't reply. What did she mean? Was this a trick? Midnight never mentioned anything to her about a night she went insane…

"Judging by your silence I am going to conclude the answer is no. So, your so called 'friend' has neglected to tell you the full story has she?"

"What does it matter anyway?" Shadow yelled up at her, suddenly frustrated again. "She already told me how much pain she was feeling."

"Oh yes, I know. She told you how her life fell apart when she gave up everything to find her long dead sister. She told me the same story. But I knew more. I know the REAL reason she was willing to give up the very thing that made her, her." Bellvor leaned in close. "And I can tell you as well."

Her brain was screaming at her not to do it, but the rest of her senses needed to know. "…go on." Shadow finally choked out.

At that, Bellvor lifted her arms and summoned a whirlwind of fog and wind. It danced around Shadow, making her blind to everything else around her.

Shadow whipped her head around, looking for an escape. But before she could do anything she heard Bellvor's voice.

"Once upon a time," Bellvor began in a haunting tone, "there was a young girl named Midnight who more than anything wanted to find her sister."

Shadow watched in wonder as part of the whirling circle of fog and smoke suddenly merged together to make a little cloud figure shaped like Midnight.

"But alas, it was not to be. You see, her little sister was presumed dead years ago. But Midnight didn't want to believe them. She believed her sister was still out there. Eventually this poor unfortunate soul little by little started to lose her mind. She was beginning to believe that everywhere she looked, her sister was there."

More clouds floated around the Midnight cloud and they formed into smaller versions of Midnight, popping all around the Midnight cloud. The Midnight cloud looked around wildly at each cloud that appeared before her.

"Until finally, it stopped."

The smaller Midnight clouds disappeared at once and the Midnight cloud looked angry.

"Instead, Midnight began to form a new level of insanity."

A cloud sword appeared in the Midnight cloud's hand.

"You see, Midnight finally accepted her sister was dead. But to do that, she also accepted the fact that she was murdered and vowed revenge. One night, with weapon in hand, she stumbled across a city."

A cloud city appeared in front of cloud Midnight.

"In that city, her confused mind was SURE that her sister's murderer was there. And, wouldn't you know it, after a few hours of waiting outside for the supposed 'murderer' to appear, it finally came."

A few cloud trees popped up around cloud Midnight and then two other cloud people showed up in front of her.

"Or should I say, THEY finally came."

Shadow felt her throat clench up in a very weird way.

"So sure these two random souls were the ones that dispatched her sister, Midnight ran out of her hiding place and disposed of the two people."

Shadow watched as the cloud Midnight jumped on the two cloud people and stabbed them with her cloud weapon until they vanished.

"Shortly after, Midnight looked at the blood on her hands and the two dead bodies in front of her and realized the TERRIBLE mistake she had made. Her insanity spell was broken and now SHE became a murderer."

Shadow felt liquid begin to form in her eyes and she sucked it back.

"She was so scared about what would happen to her, she pinned the blame on the next poor souls that came around and that, my dear, is the real reason she asked for my help."

The Midnight cloud's outline lifted into the air until a breeze carried it away.

"It's a shame, really. Innocent people that did nothing just killed like that. They had a family you know. Two children. A pity their lives were ruined…"

Shadow shut her eyes tight and felt tears slip down her burning cheeks. "What are you trying to say?"

The smoke suddenly lifted and was replaced with Bellvor's wicked face staring right at Shadow. "I think you know exactly what I am saying."

Shadow felt her heart beat faster. It couldn't be true. IT COULDN'T!

Bellvor cooed raggedly, "Don't cry dear. After all, if you're such good friends with her you'll work it out." She fully showed her teeth now and added, "Maybe."

Shadow took a step back and hid her face underneath her hood. "Get me the hell out of here." She commanded. "NOW."

Bellvor straightened and sighed delightedly. "As you wish young soul." And with that, Shadow's surroundings faded until she was back outside on the stone circle.

"You know where to find me if you change your mind about your soul." Shadow didn't move as Bellvor's last hushed words echoed in her ears.

Shadow stood there with her hood draped over her face, having no intention to return to the slayer guild just yet.

Bellvor had to be lying…she HAD to be. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**Ok, so originally this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I figured it was long enough and called it a chapter. So what do you think? Like? Don't like? Tired of me pissing around instead of writing? Ok well think of it this way: Longer time means longer chapters. Shorter time means shorter chapters. Which one sounds better?**

**Major turning point in the storyline. For those of you who figured it out already, congrats! Have a cookie :)**

**Anyway, REVIEW!**


	16. Friends and Enemies

Chapter 16 

* * *

Friends and Enemies 

* * *

Shadow stood still as stone outside of her room in the slayer guild. She knew Midnight would still be inside and she wasn't quite ready to face the Soulless.

She had arrived at Canifis just as the day was turning to dawn, although you couldn't really tell because of the dark sky that never eased up in this region.

Shadow had walked all the way back without stopping once to rest. She had literally gone through the whole night without sleeping. And for what? She had failed her mission and was now standing outside her own room trying to decide how to ask her friend, the only real friend she ever had, something that might not even be true.

But she HAD to know. She couldn't stay in the same room with her without knowing. How could she look her in the eye or pretend that everything was ok? How could she be deaf to what she had heard?

It had to be this way.

Shadow took a deep breath and let her rock hard thieving emotions take over. She would need every last drop of them for what she was about to do.

Without hesitating, Shadow gripped the door and shoved it open. The room was still slightly dark with only a few candles lighting it but it was bright enough for Shadow to see Midnight sitting upright on her bed with her legs crossed and her eyes closed.

She didn't move when Shadow shut the door rather loudly behind her and if Shadow didn't know any better she would have assumed Midnight fell asleep while meditating. But she knew better.

"You were gone all night." Midnight pointed out the obvious without opening her eyes.

Shadow guessed that was the 'Midnight way' of asking if everything was ok. "I had some business I needed to take care of." Shadow said, still pondering on how she would go about this.

Shadow moved to her own bed and took off her hood and cloak, only then just remembering the armor she took without permission that was under it.

"Damn." Shadow muttered through gritted teeth. With a swift glance back toward Midnight, she took off the armor and folded it in her cloak, telling herself she would put it back where she found it later.

"I led the group while you were gone." Midnight began reporting. "We killed 106 Crawling Hands. Nothing too dangerous."

Shadow nodded absent mindedly while she changed into her regular clothes. It was now or never, she told herself. Rip the bandage off.

"Midnight I need to talk to you." Shadow said loudly and clearly and somewhat angrily. At this very moment Midnight was not her friend. And it hurt thinking that.

"Does this have to do with where you were last night?" Midnight asked in her monotone.

Shadow lifted up her head and turned to look at the Soulless. "I went to see Bellvor last night."

Midnight opened her eyes at once and glared at her. "What?" she growled.

"I went to try and get back your soul." There was no stopping now. "But she refused to give it back."

Midnight shook her head and closed her eyes again. "You shouldn't have bothered trying. Bellvor doesn't exactly do things out of the kindness of her heart. You're lucky you got out of there with your soul still intact."

"She told me the reason you gave up your soul…" she paused and choked back the fire that was beginning to rise in her throat. "The REAL reason."

Midnight opened one eye. "You're going to have to stop talking in riddles."

"Is it true you killed two people?" Shadow leaned closer to her, holding her breath.

Midnight scrunched up her face like she had just smelled something awful and sighed loudly. "Yes. I made a mistake and now I'm paying the price." She opened both of her eyes and stared at her lap.

"What did they look like?" Shadow continued to question her.

Midnight shrugged without looking at her. "It was a long time ago."

"Did two people come up to the dead bodies? A little boy and girl?" Shadow felt her palms sweating and she was starting to shake.

"Just say what you really want to ask, Shadow." Midnight snapped at her.

Shadow wrapped her hands into tight fists and dug her nails into her skin. "Midnight…did you kill my parents?"

Midnight didn't answer. Instead, she started to slowly shake her head before looking up at the scared and angry human in front of her. "There was always a part of me that knew you were that same little girl that crawled over to the dead bodies of her parents. I don't know many humans with your particular eye color."

Shadow dropped back and fell on her bed. She suddenly felt like the world was ending around her and she screwed up her face, shut her eyes, and grit her teeth as the cold reality punctured straight into her heart.

Midnight continued, "When you told me your story, I knew then who you were. I knew that I had killed your parent's years ago. I knew that I was the reason that you and your brother's lives were turned upside down. I knew that I was the one that placed the burden on your shoulders and that I was the one that framed you. I wanted to tell you…but I couldn't."

Shadow suddenly felt another weight plop down on her bed and she felt a cold hand place itself on top of hers, making her blood practically turn to lava. "I only wish how I could tell you and SHOW you how truly sorry I am."

"Get the hell off of me." Shadow said in a quiet, gruff voice. She yanked her hand away and stood up, looking at the Soulless in front of her.

For a moment, she thought she saw a tiny hint of emotion in the center of Midnight's black eyes. But she dismissed it.

Shadow shook her head and slowly backed away. She needed to get away. "You can't even BEGIN to imagine what I'm feeling. YOU'RE the one that turned my life inside out. YOU'RE the reason why I'll never be an adventurer. YOU'RE the reason I still jerk awake in the middle of night because I think the guards are still looking for me. YOU'RE the reason why I'll never have a normal life and YOU'RE the reason my parents are dead."

Shadow's voice completely shattered at this point and she had pressed her back against the wall of her room that was suddenly feeling A LOT smaller. She had to get out of here. She had to run. She didn't know where she just needed to get out of here.

Ignoring Midnight's cries to stop, Shadow sped through the door and didn't stop running even after she had made it outside of the guild.

Her mind in turmoil and pain, she barely registered that it was suddenly pouring down rain and she raced through the Haunted Woods. Her spiked boots were having difficulty gripping the sloppy mud underneath her feet but she didn't care. She just needed to leave. And right now she had no intention to come back.

Thunder rolled above her head but she didn't stop running, even though by now she had no idea where she was. She passed tree after tree and they were starting to all look the same. Where was she? She stopped and spun around and around.

Her clothes clung to her skin and her hair pressed against her face, making it even harder to see. She thought she heard a snarl but she couldn't be sure through the pounding rain.

Out of the corner of her eye, she was suddenly sure she saw a pair of eyes. Then two more and more and more. Shadow looked up and gaped in horror as about 10 pale skinned vampires jumped down from trees and bared their teeth at her.

One jumped straight onto Shadow and dug its claws into her. Shadow cried out in pain and dropped onto the ground, attempting to crush the blood sucker underneath her while she tried in vain to grab her only weapon: the dagger she kept in her pocket.

But the vampire was replaced with two more and they lunged at her, causing her to skid even further in the mud as they jumped on her, trying to snap at her face as she pushed them back with only her arms as they snarled and snapped on top of her.

Shadow gritted her teeth as she continued holding up her burden. She wanted to scream but she couldn't and she couldn't feel the dagger in her pocket anymore. She managed to glance over and see the handle sticking out in the mud a long ways away from her.

With one final grunt, Shadow shoved the vampires off, rolled along the mud, and jumped to her feet with her hand outstretched to grab her dagger.

But just then she felt another vampire slam into her side and whack her in the head. She rolled along the mud yet again, slid headfirst into a rock, and everything went black.

* * *

Shadow shuffled her feet nervously as she listened to Blake rattle on. She had heard this same speech hundreds of times, but she knew Blake was just making sure they understood the plan. After all, this was their first big job since her and Ronaldo had gotten there.

It had been a couple weeks since the Varrock gang had taken in Shadow and her wounded brother. They haven't exactly been the friendliest or most open people in the world but what can you expect from a gang of thieves?

The dark blonde haired girl Shadow know knew as Amphetro and the lighter blonde haired girl, Mallory, had been instructed to take care of Ronaldo and help heal and clean his wound. Shadow was immensely grateful to them for that. Without the gang her brother would have surely died.

So Shadow didn't mind if she was barked orders at every now and again by Blake. It was a small price to pay for having her brother safe and healthy. What was more, for the first time in years Shadow finally felt SAFE in this tiny hideout in the basement of an abandoned building.

The males of the gang weren't as bad as she once thought they were. Marcus in particular made her feel most welcome. He was always joking around and whenever Mallory made any jibes directed toward her, he would be the first one to direct them right back into her face. He and Mallory were always getting into spats.

Narmo seemed pretty secluded except for when he was talking to his girlfriend, Amphetro. Shadow could tell they loved each other deeply. They always seemed to go from gloomy to happy whenever they were around each other.

Blake acted just as his title proclaimed: as leader of the Varrock gang. He made sure that the gang still kept its daily routine even if there were two newcomers. Blake had especially started paying attention to Shadow. He stayed up late with her just to teach her new thieving moves she didn't already know and to teach her the Code of the Thieves as he called it.

Some nights were slightly weirder than others. Shadow would catch Blake's brown eyes moving over her body, examining her, taking her in even as he was talking to her. Some nights he would even brush her leg or whisper in her ear. But Shadow dismissed all this; assuring her it was just normal behavior.

But even so, sometimes when Shadow joined a patrol to steal more food and she caught a random male passerby staring at her lustfully, Blake would always scare him off. Again, Shadow dismissed this as Blake making sure their cover wouldn't be blown.

Shadow blinked as she tuned back in to what was going on. Ronaldo had healed quickly and successfully and Blake had decided that now with two more members of the gang, they could pull off this big job he had been planning for ages.

Ronaldo, Shadow, Mallory, Amphetro, Narmo, and Blake were all crouched in some hedges right outside of the entrance to the Varrock King's Palace. They were each dressed in specific costumes for different parts of the plan.

Ronaldo, Narmo, and Blake were dressed as servants while Amphetro was disguised as if she were a chef or a chef's assistant and Shadow and Mallory wore maid's costumes.

Shadow still raised an eyebrow when she thought of her role. Her maid outfit was made drastically different than Mallory's. Shadow had fishnet stockings, spikey high heels, an EXTREMELY short maid's black and white dress that showed far too much cleavage, and blazing red lipstick gleamed on her lips.

"Shadow!" she jolted as the loud voice of Blake shot through her thoughts. "Are you planning on joining us here in reality anytime soon or are you planning to sleep through the job?" Blake's cold question made her shudder.

She glared at the dirty ground they were crouching on and muttered, "Sorry."

Blake gave a curt nod and continued, "I'm going to go over this ONE more time."-Ignoring the groan from Mallory-"Marcus is already waiting for us outside the palace doors dressed as a guard. He informed the King that new servants, maids, and a chef will arrive today. Once we get inside-"

"-we go to the King's throne room and we meet the King, then we leave the King except for Shadow who distracts him with his own disgusting desires while Marcus gets the key from the other guards and lets Narmo and you into the armor room while Mallory searches the rooms and I distract the guards with food and Ronaldo snoops around the rest of the palace for the King's safe where he'll crack it open, get as much money as he can carry, signal Shadow that it's time to leave, we all get out, no one knows until it's too late." Amphetro finished without missing a beat or stopping once to gasp for air.

Blake glared at her. "Since you seem to know exactly what you're doing, you can go in first smartass."

Amphetro smirked and moved to stand up. Shadow noticed Narmo inconspicuously grab onto her hand, squeeze it, and let go in what seemed like half a second. She looked around to see if anyone was watching before she walked seemingly unsuspicious through the palace courtyard and through the palace doors that Marcus opened for her.

"Ronaldo and Narmo are up next. Wait a few minutes before following." Blake added before they could move. Shadow knew that Blake didn't want it to seem like they all knew each other. In everyone else's eyes they were just new recruits to the Varrock King's chain of servants.

A few minutes passed and Narmo exited the bushes, followed by Ronaldo with a final look toward Shadow. She nodded at him and the two boys followed Amphetro's lead and entered through the large doors.

"I don't see why _Shadow _gets to distract the King." Shadow cringed at Mallory's snide voice as the blonde filed her nails. "I'm more than qualified!" she whined at Blake.

Blake narrowed his eyes at her. "She's distracting the King because I SAY she's distracting the King." He said firmly.

Mallory scoffed but didn't say another word about it. Shadow frowned at her. Why did Mallory hate her so much? She was ALWAYS trying to one up her.

Blake glanced at the front doors one more time. "Alright, Mallory and Shadow. You two do exactly what they did. You'll be brought up to the King's throne room and I'll be following you shortly." His eyes gazed over both of them, falling on Mallory as he said sternly, "DON'T mess this up."

Mallory rolled her eyes and Shadow nodded. They both edged out of the bushes and strode toward the doors. Shadow forced herself to walk properly through the uncomfortable high heeled shoes.

She heard Mallory mumble something under her breath as guards stopped what they were doing to turn and gawk at Shadow as the two girls passed. Shadow smirked and automatically started fixing her black hair that was out of its usual spikey pigtails and instead flowing through the wind.

It seemed like an eternity before they reached the doors. Marcus opened it for them and Shadow caught his wink as they entered into the sacred Varrock Palace. They were stopped by two more guards addressing who they were.

Shadow immediately started playing her part and forced her voice to sound older, but more higher pitched. "I'm Emma and this is-"

"-Sapphire. How do you do?" Mallory stuck out her hand and slightly arched her chest forward, trying to divert the guard's full attention on Shadow but to no avail. She frowned and dropped her hand.

Shadow blinked rapidly and smiled softly. "We're the new maid's for King Roald. He's expecting us."

The younger looking guard gulped while the older one cleared his throat and signaled them to follow them. So far things were going exactly to plan.

Shadow and Mallory walked in unison behind the two guards; the younger one constantly looking behind at them. Shadow looked around their surroundings as they made their way to the King. To the guard it looked like an innocent, but scarcely dressed girl curiously looking around a palace that most likely was the first she was ever inside. But to any trained eye it was obvious she was taking in everything she saw, examining every nook and cranny.

Shadow was memorizing the route they were taking. She would need to go back this way when the time came. Hopefully it would be at her pace and not a hasty retreat. It all depended on everybody's solitary roles in this job.

They went through various hallways, up spiral stairs, and finally reached a large door with two more guards on either side of it. They glanced at the newcomers and opened the doors.

Shadow took a deep breath and let it free. Inside Amphetro, Ronaldo, and Narmo were lined up in front of a large, gold throne. A rather bald man with a jeweled crown and a light brown beard sat on it, tapping his fingers on the arm of the throne. He seemed to perk up when Mallory and Shadow were revealed from behind the guards that had escorted them.

"Your majesty," the older guard bowed briefly, "we present the new maid's, Miss Sapphire and Miss Emma." He pointed to Shadow and Mallory in turn and, remembering just in time, they both curtsied.

A goofy grin appeared on King Roald's face that made Shadow arch an eyebrow. "Welcome ladies to my palace!" the King swept his hands around in a fluid motion. "I was just informing these three of their duties. You-"he was cut off as the doors swung open yet again.

Inside stepped Marcus, still in his guard costume, and Blake who looked wide eyed and curious just as any other new help to the palace would look. Shadow had to admit she was impressed by how well he could fake.

"Excuse me your King-ness," Marcus bowed deeply in front of the king. "I've just come to deliver the last new recruit for the day, Mr. Boone."

Blake bowed to the king, though Shadow noticed a corner of his mouth twitching as he did so. "I'm here to serve you, my king."

King Roald chuckled. "Excellent! As I was saying to you three, "he turned to Amphetro, Ronaldo, and Narmo, "Miss Abby will fill in as a substitute for our usual chef and Mr. Rick and Mr. Nate will report to the senior servants. Are there any questions? Good." He concluded when no one said anything. "Dismissed."

The two guys bowed while Amphetro curtsied and they left the room, not even looking at the remaining undercover thieves. Marcus informed the King that he would escort them before following them close behind.

King Roald cleared his throat and continued to say, "Mr. Boone will follow the servants and Miss Sapphire and Miss Emma," he paused and lingered his gaze on Shadow, "will report to the senior maids. Dismissed."

Blake didn't even bother bowing as he turned around and walked through the large doors. The King's eyes were glued on Shadow anyway, she figured. Shadow and Mallory curtsied once again and followed Blake.

The three walked until they rounded a corner, out of sight and hearing range from the guards. Blake stopped and turned around to face them.

"Ok," he began in a hushed tone, "Mallory, you go search the rooms. Shadow, wait a couple minutes before going back inside the throne room. Tell King Idiot that the senior maids told you to clean in there. After that, work your magic."

Shadow nodded and Mallory grit her teeth and stared at the ground which was the closest thing to an 'I understand' they were going to get.

Blake bobbed his head briefly and took off running down the halls, Mallory going the opposite direction.

The job truly had begun.

Shadow leaned against the wall as she waited. She made final adjustments to her outfit. She pulled her maid top down lower and puffed up her hair more. She bit her lip and shook away any last case of nerves she had. She was a crucial part of this plan. If the King wasn't distracted then the whole plan could fall apart.

Shadow hissed out a breath and strutted back the way she had come. She approached the doors and the guards halted her even though she had only just left from there. She had to resist from rolling her eyes.

"I'm here to clean the King's throne room." Shadow told them. "I was ordered to." She added quickly.

One of the guards narrowed his eyes through his helmet. "Then where are your cleaning supplies?"

Dammit! Blake never mentioned anything about needing to have cleaning supplies.

"They're already inside." Shadow improvised quickly without blinking an eye.

The guards exchanged looks before opening the doors for her. She inwardly let out a breath and stepped into the throne room. The King was in the exact place she had left him.

"Yes, Miss Emma? Can I help you?" Shadow didn't miss the pleasure oozing out of his voice as he saw she was back. She tried her hardest not to smirk. This was just going to be too easy.

"I was ordered to clean in here." Shadow made her voice change from innocent to sexy and low. She stepped toward the King and she noticed a bead of sweat beginning to form on his brow as he took in the situation they were in.

Still, he managed to keep his voice steady. "Then where are your cleaning supplies?"

Shadow faked realization and face palmed herself. "Shoot. I forgot them outside…maybe I could help you in some other way?" She slowly walked up the steps leading to his throne and swerved her hips.

"Like-like what?" Shadow smiled as she finally got a cracked voice out of this guy. She looked at his left hand and noticed a ring. Bastard.

Shadow took this opportunity to plant herself on an arm of his throne and lift up her leg, kicking off a high heeled boot and brushing her fishnet foot against his chin. She could literally feel his body heating up.

"M-m-Miss Emma? What-what are you doing?" He stuttered as she kicked off her other boot and abruptly sat on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist.

She eased in close and positioned her lips just hovering over his ears as she whispered. " I've come to serve my king, haven't I?"

She resisted gagging as her teeth began to nibble at his earlobe. She felt him pull back and grit his teeth as he did so. This was disgusting, but she needed to do this for the gang.

Suddenly, she felt him grab the sides of her head and slam his lips against hers, making her have no choice but to squeak in surprise. She covered it up with fake moaning as he continued to maul her face and press her against the throne.

He finally ceased. His face was rosy and hot. "I shouldn't," he said between gasps, "but it's just been so long since I had something different." Shadow figured he meant other than his wife. "Is it so wrong for a king to want a stress reliever every once in a while?"

Shadow pulled back before he could kiss her again. "Of course not." She reassured him. "You're a king for the gods' sakes!" she rubbed her hands against his chest. "You can have whatever your little heart desires."

King Roald grinned widely at hearing this. "You're right. And what I want is you."

Where the hell was Ronaldo's signal?

The King lunged at her face again and Shadow braced herself; silently dreading how far they would get before she could get out of here.

But before he could kiss her again, the doors flew open and the two guards from outside ran in. "My king!" they shouted.

The King immediately shoved Shadow off his lap and she crawled out of view, pretending to be scrubbing the floor. She quietly thanked the gods for the interruption, but that thought was quickly demolished as the guards continued and said, "There has been a break-in! Someone has gotten to the vault."

Ronaldo!

"What?" The King's desires vanished and he slammed his fist against the throne arm. "Call the guards! Catch the thief before he gets away!"

Shadow forced herself to wait until the guards and the King left the room before she exited out the open doors. She barely registered she was running barefoot. She just needed to find her brother.

Shadow's sense of direction was all over the place. She ran through hall after hall, hoping one of them would lead to her brother or any other of the thieves. She thought she saw someone with black hair whiz past ahead but she couldn't be sure if it was one of the servants or not.

She finally reached a spiral staircase that she recognized and practically flew down it.

She let out a grunt as she slammed right into another person in the middle of the stairs, sending them both tumbling down to the bottom.

She landed with a thud and rubbed her head. "Watch where you're going!" She snapped at whoever she ran in to.

"ME watch where I'm going? You're the one that flew down the freaking stairs!"

Shadow growled and turned to face the speaker. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

In front of her was a guy about her level slowly trying to stand up. He had blonde spiky hair and ice blue eyes as he stared at the ground with a scowl. "You and your stupid gang always ruin everything!" he snapped.

Shadow glared at him and stood up. Her temper was flaring. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't do anything!" she said mostly on impulse. Both for the reason of defending herself and fibbing in case this guy lived here. But how would he know she was with a gang, then?

"You-"the guy began to say more, but stopped himself when he suddenly met her gaze. For a brief second his eyes flashed with confusion and something else that Shadow couldn't place. She stood glued to the spot as his blue eyes bore into her green ones.

Finally, he shook his head and a smirk appeared on his face. "Sorry sweetie, I guess I was mistaken. I thought you were the blonde haired bimbo that almost got caught."

Mallory? Shadow didn't bother asking. "Who are you anyway?" she snapped.

Spiky hair casually leaned again the wall. "Honey, I have many names. But you can call me Cloud." He winked at her, making her roll her eyes.

"I meant where did you come from and how do you know about my gang?"

"Geez sweetheart if you wanted to know all that why didn't you be more specific? I'm the leader of the Falador gang. I'm sure your precious leader has told you all about me."

Shadow opened her mouth to comment but a dark figured jumped down the stairs beside them before she could. "Cloud, get the hell away from her!" Blake snapped. He turned to Shadow. "We need to go. Now." He grabbed her twist and dragged her through the halls before she could object.

Shadow couldn't help but look back. Cloud seemed to wake up and smell the danger as well because he was running too-away from them.

"Everyone else already got out. Mallory got caught by one of the maid's and triggered the alarm in the vault. Apparently she wanted to play hero and tried to crack it open herself. Also, the Falador gang is here as you've already seen. The bastards must have had the same job planned as we did. This isn't even their territory. Up here!"

He suddenly stopped as they reached a high window that was already open. He bended down, cupped his hands, and Shadow allowed him to boost her up to the window. She held out her hand to him and pulled him up beside her just as she heard the thundering of running guards coming closer.

The other side was a steep drop, but the bushes below would provide a safe fall. Shadow shut her eyes and jumped down when the coast was clear. Blake landed with a plop beside her.

They peeked out of the bushes and made a b-line for the exit of the Varrock Palace courtyard.

They were finally safe outside of the area but didn't stop running until they made it outside of the hideout. Shadow bended down to catch her breath, but Ronaldo looked as if he barely broke a sweat.

"You ok?" He asked her.

"I'm…fine." She said between breaths. "I just wasn't prepared to run so fast and so far."

"As a thief you need to be prepared for anything."

"I know! I was just confused and all over the place."

"If Mallory hadn't screwed up the plan you wouldn't be confused and all over the place." He suddenly looked down at her feet with a smirk. "I take it your part of the plan was going well?"

Shadow stood upright with a glare. "Are the Falador gang the rival gang you mentioned when Ronaldo and I first came to the gang?"

Blake didn't seem surprised at this question. "Yes." He answered carefully.

"Why do they hate us?"

Blake stared at the ground and sighed. "Let's just say Cloud and I have never really seen eye to eye."

Shadow wanted to ask him more, but she didn't feel like receiving even more mysterious answers.

His eyes seemed to search her face for a twitch of emotion before he said, "We should get inside." He turned around.

"So you can chew off Mallory?" Shadow managed to laugh even through the mist of failure.

Blake replied in a completely serious tone. "Well, yes. Failure is something I don't take lightly in this gang. It has dire consequences. Remember that."

* * *

"I think she's waking up!"

"And just what everyone needs when they get out of a coma, a shrieking girl in their ear. What are you, a Banshee?"

"Sorry. She's just been out all night."

"Thank you Captain Obvious…"

"Hush, young'un's."

Shadow slowly opened her eyes to see a bunch of blurry objects in front of her. The room seemed to be spinning around her even though she was conscious enough to tell she was lying down. She blinked multiple times to try and clear her vision.

She shivered as a cold, clawed hand pressed against her forehead. "Can you hear me, young'un?"

Shadow recognized the voice of Ramankila and she tried to open her mouth to speak. But all that came out was a croak.

"Oh no! The vampires sucked the voice out of her." Shadow heard the worried whisper from April.

"Vampires suck blood, not voices you idiot." Came a grumble from Argon. Was she back in the guild?

"Hold your head still, young'un, and keep your eyes open. This will help you see." She felt Ramankila's hands grip her head to keep it from moving and vaguely saw a blurry shape hover over her eye. She tried to keep it open and didn't flinch when liquid hit her pupil.

After both eyes were finished, Shadow blinked them deeper into her eyes and tried to see again. Everything seemed much clearer now and she attempted to sit up.

She could only just now see she was laying on a propped up makeshift bed in what she could only assume was Ramankila's healing room. She looked around more and saw that April and Argon were standing by her bedside, Ramankila on the other side.

"Can you talk?" April asked her worriedly.

"If she can't, it's natural. Most coma victims can't find their voice again until hours after they wake up." Ramankila informed.

Argon raised a dark purple eyebrow. "You were out cold for hours. Those vampire assholes must have got you good."

"But you're lucky!" April piped up. "Most humans, even monsters that get attacked by a swarm of vampires don't live."

Shadow blinked and decided to test her voice. "So how did I live?" her voice sounded scratchy and quiet. "I was knocked out cold in the middle of the Haunted Woods."

"Midnight saved you." April suddenly scooted over and it was only then that Shadow noticed the Soulless lurking in the shadows. She was staring at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with her.

Shadow didn't take her eyes off of her as she asked, "How did she do that?"

"She followed your tracks in the mud." April chirped. "She found you knocked out just as the vampires were jumping on top of you. She fought them off and brought you back to-"

"-to me." Ramankila interrupted. "And if you young'un's wouldn't mind I think we should give these two some privacy for a proper thank you." She began to usher April and Argon out. A part of Shadow was sure that, somehow, Ramankila knew more about a situation than she let on. Maybe a sixth sense?

As the nurse and the two purple siblings left the room, Midnight stepped out from the shadows. Her cold eyes seemed different somehow; As if, in a way, they weren't so cold.

Shadow watched her move forward until she was right by the bedside and stopped. Then, Shadow watched as Midnight suddenly dropped down and hung her head. She half expected her voice to break, but it carried the same non-emotion tone it always did. "I'm sorry. It was my fault for driving you into the rain. You wouldn't be here right now if I had just told you the truth sooner."

Shadow felt her throat begin to swell up. Maybe it was the coma or the amount of emotions she felt from her memory, but she felt like her hard skin was just softened right now. And she didn't like it.

"Midnight, stand up." Her voice stayed hard as the Soulless did as she was asked. "How did you fight off the vampires? There were about 30 of them."

Midnight kept her gaze fixed on hers. "I let the darkness in me take over. As soon as I saw them swarming around your body I had no choice. Besides, the second I saw you I was sure you were dead."

Shadow felt a smile crack in the corner of her mouth. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"You're the closest friend I ever had." Shadow couldn't help but be taken aback by this sudden admission. "So far, you're the only thing that makes this living hell worth living. It was a sick twist of fate that I was the one that...did what I did. I don't want to lose you."

Shadow shook her head in confusion. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were using emotions."

Midnight stared steadily at her. "You don't need a soul to tell when you have a real friend. And when you have that, you don't want to lose it. It's the only thing that stays constant in your life."

"I can't forgive you, Midnight. Not completely. Not now. I'll never truly forgive what you did." Shadow confessed. "But I don't want to lose you either. In all honestly, as messed up as my life is I think you're the only person that has stayed faithful to me." Shadow felt her throat burning up and she gulped. "Even my own brother betrayed me…"

Midnight bowed her head and let her hood cover her face more. "I'll do whatever it takes to win your trust back."

Shadow looked at the pale hand placed on her makeshift bed and couldn't help but place her own hand on top of it.

Shadow's life was truly screwed up. But she had a friend by her side and it somehow made it less scary. After all, how could her life get ANY worse than this? 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**Oh it can get worse, Shadow. It can get worse….**

**Anyway, I just want to say THANK YOU GUYS FOR OVER 2000 HITS! I never dreamed that this story would get this popular and on behalf of Jessica and me we want to thank you guys over 2000 times for the 2000 hits. We wouldn't have made it this far without you guys! :)**

**Now on to more pressing matters…In celebration of the 2000 hits we want to give you guys a Q&A for Thieving Slayer. So, if you guys have any questions or are confused about something in the story you can write a review/question about it and in the end of the next chapter we will answer the questions as best as we can! The only rule: it can't be something that will give away any spoilers.**

**So that's pretty much it guys. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank YOU for all the support and appreciation for the story!**

**REVIEW/ASK QUESTIONS!**


	17. Upgrading

Chapter 17 

* * *

Upgrading 

* * *

Shadow ran her fingers through her hair while staring at the giant crystal in front of her. She had gotten up extra early today in order to get washed up and be able to make it to breakfast on time, something she was rarely able to do.

Today wasn't an ordinary day. Creatures of the slayer guild were bustling around her as they frantically tried to get ready. All slayers were to report to the food hall at exactly 8:30 a.m. The reason why no monsters grunted or groaned about this arrangement was for one thing and one thing only.

The second in command was going to be announced today.

Over two weeks ago Shadow was still recovering from her blow to the head. It only took her a few days for her to get back on her feet and resume her group leader duties. She had somehow turned into a celebrity while in Ramankila's care. By now, everyone had heard how she had survived the vampire attacked and, even though she had to be saved, they respected her for living through it.

After all, she was only a 'mere' human. But Shadow knew she was stronger than any of them had cared to give her credit for. She could have taken them all if she wasn't so delusional at the time, or had lost her dagger.

Shadow smiled as she thought of her friends and all the support they had given her. April was convinced that Shadow would become second in command and even Argon admitted that there might be the tiniest possibility. If Midnight believed this she wouldn't say it out loud. Shadow knew she wouldn't want to get her hopes up.

Shadow herself didn't really believe that she would get the position. Sure, it would be amazing to finally be known as something other than a thief. But there were a ton of other slayers that were more qualified than her.

Still, she had worked just as hard as the other group leaders that were candidates for the job. Every group leader had volunteered for extra shifts and whatever extra credit they could receive. They all wanted the job. It was understandable. Mazchna had waited for 1000 years or so.

"Exxxcited for the announcement?" Shadow didn't even flinch at the sudden hiss behind her.

"Hey, Kola." Shadow smirked. "I'm just as excited as any other slayer in the guild." She said simply, acting as if she didn't really care.

"Who do you think it issss?" She stood beside her and stared blankly ahead.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think it's going to be Aqua. She's more than qualified and she's a kiss-ass to boot. She's been preparing for this opportunity since I joined the guild."

Kola swished her forked tongue in the air in amusement. "Madussssa thinkssss sssshe'ss entitled to the job."

Shadow snorted. "Mazchna will never let her have a claw hold on the guild. She's no more qualified than her drones that follow her around like mindless zombies."

A low moan followed this statement and Shadow turned around with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Bailey. I didn't mean anything by it." She said to the zombie girl in front of her. The one eyed decaying dead girl shrugged and hobbled away.

"I think you have a sssshot." Kola continued their conversation.

Shadow shrugged and started brushing her hair. "I don't know…"

"You've become famoussss ssssince you joined the guild. You became ressspected when you fought back againsssst Madusssa. You've only climbed higher sssince."

"I know what I did. I just don't think that the slayer guild is ready to welcome a human into a position where she can order them around, much less someday become the slayer master."

"Anything isss posssssible. Maybe it'ssss time for the rulessss to change." And with that, Kola walked away.

Shadow had stopped mid-brush at her words and sighed. She placed the brush back where she found it and looked at her own eyes in the crystal reflection.

Her mother had always made a point at telling Shadow she was made for great things. But was this what she was really meant to be? A slayer master?

When she was little, she had dreamed of becoming a famous adventurer, a legend. It was her dream. But fate had other plans for her, obviously. Maybe now this was her chance to make everything right. Sure she wasn't exploring dark caves or slaying ferocious dragons, but maybe this was her destiny.

Shadow blinked and shook her head. "Stop it, Shadow." She said under her breath, "The second in command wasn't even announced yet."

Shadow stared at her mirror image one more time and looked around.

The place was nearly empty.

"Dammit!" Shadow snapped. She shoved open the door and made her way through the winding tunnels. There was no way she was going to be late for breakfast today.

She reached the food hall doors in no time and slammed them open. All the slayers were busily eating breakfast at their tables. The announcement hadn't started yet.

Shadow breathed a sigh of relief and made her way to the food. Since today was a special day, everything would be edible even for her.

Shadow pressed her hands against the glass and smacked her lips at the pancakes, donuts, and other sweets just waiting for her to take a bite out of them.

"You going to order or are you going to just fog up the glass?"

Shadow arched an eyebrow without looking up. "Morning to you too, Tetsu."

The acid spitting blonde had more than his fair share of kitchen experience. Shadow had guessed by now that he got himself in trouble on purpose because of a certain attractive cook's assistant beyond the doors behind him. Shadow had met her when she and Midnight had served their punishment.

"How's Kayla?" Shadow asked him slyly.

"What about Kayla?" Tetsu glared at her through his one eye that wasn't covered in the eye patch.

"I just wanted to know how she was."

"She's fine."

"Well…good."

"Yeah."

Shadow had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as the blonde boys cheeks grew redder by the second.

"WOULD YOU JUST ORDER?" Tetsu snapped at her.

Shadow rolled her eyes. "You're no fun. Fine, I want a glazed donut."

"Trying to add on to the extra pounds you already have?" Tetsu mocked her, holding out the tray with her donut on it.

She yanked it out of his hands. "At least I can lose weight. You're stuck with that face forever." She turned around triumphantly with the feeling of Tetsu's glare on the back of her head.

A hitch pitched squeak made her turn. "Shadow! SHADOW! We're over here!" April's skinny arms were flailing wildly in the air.

Shadow walked over to the table where April, Argon, Midnight, and even Kola were sitting. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"April hasn't stopped talking about the announcement since I woke up." Argon grumbled through his hands that were pressed firmly against his face.

April was practically bouncing in her seat. "I can't help it! I'm just so excited. Aren't you excited? I'm so excited!"

Midnight was rubbing her temples with her eyes clamped shut, "Can't you be excited at someone else's table?"

Kola shrugged. "I think it'ssss rather cute. We need more outward happy in this godssssforsssaken guild."

Shadow paused from attacking her donut. "I never took you for a happy loving creature." She said with her mouth full.

Kola waved her hand casually. "I ssssuposse I have my father'ssss persssonality."

Shadow took a moment to picture a family of snake people before continuing to maul her sweet treat.

"So Shadow, what are you going to say for your acceptance speech?" April blinked expectedly at her.

Shadow took her time with her bite of donut and waited until she swallowed to reply. "I don't think I'm going to get the job. I mean, Aqua is-"

"-a fish brain." Argon interrupted. His head was out of his hands now. "She doesn't know anything about leadership. She just knows how to tattle and order slayers around. Mazchna needs someone that will put the guild before their selves in a heartbeat."

"Exactly! You're the nicest human I ever met and you're loyal. He HAS to make you second you command." April insisted.

Shadow slowly turned to Midnight. "Mid? I value your opinion most. What do you think?"

Midnight had hardly left Shadow's side since her recovery. She was doing everything she could to win her trust back. Shadow realized this and she appreciated it. There was always going to be that one speck of doubt toward her though. But Shadow was doing her best to lock that speck away in the deep shadows of her mind.

Midnight's black eyes locked with hers. "I think that anything can happen."

Shadow nodded and stared at her nearly finished donut. She suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore.

She knew that was Midnight's way of saying that she had a chance.

"SLAYERS OF THE CANIFIS SLAYER GUILD,"

The food hall suddenly became deafening quiet as all eyes turned to the demon in the green cloak that had just walked in. For the first time that day, Shadow felt nervous.

"You all know what day it is today," Mazchna began, "a day that will go down in this slayer guild's history. Today I will announce who I've picked for my second in command. This was no easy task and I've given it a lot of thought."

His yellow eyes scanned the room and the slayers seemed to hold their breath as they waited for him to continue.

"I've chosen someone who has worked hard to get to the position they are in. Someone who against all odds has survived. Someone who I know without a doubt in my mind will lead this guild when I am gone with its best interests in mind first and-Madusa you can sit down it's not you."

Everyone turned to the half-demon that had rose from her chair with her head held high, now with an indignant frown as she slumped back in her chair.

Mazchna cleared his throat. "Without any more hesitating, the next second in command, the one that will become the next slayer master after I'm gone is…"

Shadow watched as heads leaned forward and found her leaning along with them. This was it.

"…Aqua…"

Shadow felt her heart sink and watched the fish girl rise from her seat with a cocky smile.

"…I appreciate the gold but I don't accept bribes. The second in command role goes to Shadow!"

Shadow barely registered the frantic shaking her arm was enduring as April screamed at her, "I knew it! I knew it! I told you! Go!"

Shadow realized her mouth was hanging open and she closed it. Around her, Aqua was screaming like a banshee, most slayers were looking at her in shock, and the most bizarre thing of all was some slayers were CHEERING for her.

Argon was clapping with almost a smile, Midnight kept her same stony expression, but gripped her hand and nodded, Kola was hissing with pleasure, and April was shoving her out of her seat.

Shadow came back to reality and forced her legs to numbly move forward until they reached Mazchna. The demon managed to smile at her and handed her a scroll.

Shadow stared at it. "What's this?"

"It's a scroll." He said obviously. "You read it and then write your signature on it. Come to my office when you've signed it." He put out a clawed paw and added, "Congratulations."

Shadow took his paw and shook it and he walked through the doors. She stared after, trying to realize what the hell just happened.

"YOU DID IT!" Shadow let a gasp escape when April suddenly slammed into her and hugged her tightly. "I knew you could do it."

Argon, Kola, and Midnight followed her close behind. "Congratulations." They all said.

Shadow blinked at them all and looked at the rolled up scroll in her hand. Her victory finally seemed to sink in and she smiled. "I did do it…thanks guys!"

* * *

Shadow carefully read the last line of the scroll. She sat up, "Apparently it's just guidelines and promises."

"You sound disappointed." Midnight observed.

Shadow shrugged. "I guess I was just hoping it would be something cooler. Like a secret spell I had to recite or something."

"..A secret spell?"

"I don't know! Something better than a freaking contract."

After many more congratulations from the other slayers, Shadow and Midnight had retreated back to their room where Shadow could read the scroll in peace.

"You have any quills I can borrow?" Shadow asked the Soulless.

"You have ink and a quill on the table beside you." Midnight told her.

Shadow looked sideways and smiled sheepishly. "Oh…right." She placed the scroll on the table and dipped the quill tip in the jet black ink.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Midnight asked just before she started writing her name.

Shadow sighed. "I gave this a lot of thought even before he announced my name. I think I'm ready for this. I think this is what I was made to do. This is my destiny." She turned to look at her friend, hoping that answer would suffice.

Midnight blinked. "There wasn't a doubt in my mind that you were ready for this. I just wanted to hear YOU say it."

Shadow smirked at her and turned back to the scroll. Without waiting another second, she rapidly scribbled her name onto the line of the scroll.

She took the scroll and rolled it up again. "Do you think I should wait to see Mazchna or…?"

"You shouldn't keep him waiting."

"But it's just to deliver the scroll right? And I guess he's going to tell me other things that are required of me that weren't on the scroll."

Midnight rolled her eyes, "You're over thinking all of this. Go."

Shadow nodded, "Right. I'll see you later, Mid!" She called behind her before running out of the room.

She breezed through all the tunnels for the second time that day, but slowed down when she neared Mazchna's office.

She stopped outside of his door. She suddenly felt very unsure. The next time she walked out of this door, she would be a different person. She wouldn't be like all the other slayers in this guild. She would be a level higher than them and she would have a bigger responsibility.

She lifted her head high and gripped the door handle. She was ready for this. If she could survive in a guild full of creatures that hated her and now CHEERED for her when she received this position, she could do anything.

Shadow walked in and looked around. The office was dimmer than usual. Most of the torches had been put out. Only a tiny lit candle on a table kept the room from plunging into darkness.

"Have you signed the scroll?" she looked over and saw Mazchna sitting on his usual chair.

"I did." She walked closer and handed the scroll over to him. He took a second to unroll it and look at the signature.

"Are you ready?" he asked after he put it down.

Shadow blinked. "Ready for what?"

Mazchna stood up. "Did you think there was nothing more than signing a flimsy scroll?-he paused-"Give me your hand."

Shadow found herself holding her breath as she offered her hand. "You're not going to cut it off are you?"

Mazchna chuckled a demonic huff, "No. Shadow, do you accept the position of being my second in command in which after I am gone you will take over this guild and lead it wisely?"

Not one note wavered in her voice as she said, "I do."

"Then as slayer master of the Canifis Slayer Guild, I declare you my second in command, my deputy and adviser. You might want to brace yourself."

Shadow barely had time to think of what he just said before she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her hand Mazchna was holding. She grit her teeth and tried to remain calm as Mazchna used some sort of magic on her hand that was making it burn.

As soon as it had begun, it was over and Shadow relaxed. Mazchna released her hand and she stared at it.

A symbol was now burned into her hand. It appeared to be a skull with a sword thrust through it.

"That is the symbol of a true slayer. Only the most skilled slayers may proudly bear it." Mazchna said.

Shadow traced the lines with her finger. She seemed almost mesmerized by this symbol. Finally, she looked up at the demon and nodded at him, "Thank you."

He placed a clawed paw on her shoulder, "You're going to make a great slayer master one day. I have no doubt about that. But for now I must prepare you, so we must go over a few more things."

* * *

"Where the hell is she? We looked all over freaking Runescape for the god's sakes!" Marcus complained, spitting at the ground.

"If we looked all over Runescape then we would have found her by now." Amphetro pointed out.

"How could we have not found her by now?" Ronaldo clamped his hand against his forehead. "It's been months since we abandoned Blake."

Narmo scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uh, Ronaldo? Do you think there's any possible chance that Blake was right and Shadow's-"

"No!" Ronaldo snapped. "There's no way that Shadow's dead. She and I could outwit the guards of Runescape when we were only kids. She can do it now even by herself."

Marcus shrugged. "If you say so, man. But we've been searching for months only to be back where we started without Shadow."

The rebel group indeed was back where they started.

After leaving Blake high and dry months ago, Marcus, Amphetro, Narmo, and Ronaldo had searched high and low for Ronaldo's lost sister, but to no avail. Not even a clue was given on her whereabouts. The group finally decided to return to Varrock and decide what their next move was.

They were now in Varrock Square, analyzing their options and where they had yet to look.

"We can't keep going on like this Ronaldo." Amphetro tried to reason with him.

He turned on her. "Why the hell not? Would you rather crawl back to Blake and beg for forgiveness?" His eyes looked wild and blood shot. Ever since he left the safety of the gang hideout he had lost more and more sleep. He jerked awake in the middle of the night, thinking the guards were still looking for him.

Amphetro glared, "That wasn't what I meant. Some of us aren't exactly in the best condition to be traipsing around Runescape without any real indication on where we're going." Her gaze flashed sideways.

"Since when have you ever cared about me?" Mallory frowned and stared at the ground. Her face looking very pale and worn out.

Ronaldo sighed and his face softened. "Sorry guys. I just get carried away sometimes." He looked at Mallory. "But if you want to crash back at the hideout maybe we could-"

"No!" Mallory backed away. "I'm not going anywhere near that ass ever again, let alone ask him for favors."

Mallory had joined the rebel group about a month after they left. She had found them and begged them for forgiveness and permission to go with them after Blake had kicked her out without any supplies. After much persuasion, especially with Amphetro and Marcus, she was able to go with them and help search.

"So what do we do now Ronaldo?" Narmo asked. Ronaldo had somehow become a temporary leader to them.

Marcus took a sip of his jug filled with water he had filled in the fountain. "I'll tell you what we WON'T do. We're not going back on any freaking boats. Ever." He looked slightly green as he thought back to when they searched by boat for a while. He had gotten violently seasick throughout the whole trip.

Amphetro shuddered at the thought. "Please, NEVER again."

Ronaldo paced back and forth. "We searched all of the places that Shadow and I had taken shelter in. We asked around. We tried to retrace her steps and track her. Nothing has worked!" he paused and slowly turned. "I…I don't know what else to do."

Marcus looked shocked. "YOU don't have a plan? Aw, c'mon! You always have a plan."

"We can't just give up, "Amphetro insisted, "We're so close! I know we are."

Narmo took his girlfriend's hand and squeezed it gently. "Maybe giving up is the only option." He looked Ronaldo squarely in the eyes. "I'm sorry dude, but maybe you just have to accept that your sister might be…not alive."

Ronaldo felt like someone had stuck a knife in his heart and twisted it. "I can't just accept that. I can't just accept that she's dead without any proof. I won't give up until I see a body. I owe that much to her."

"Get your Varrock Times! Varrock Times here!" A local newspaper salesman was yelling.

Mallory clutched Ronaldo's arm. "Narmo's right. You can't keep making yourself sick like this with the possibility she might be alive."

"Breaking news here in the Varrock Times! A new to-be slayer master is announced in Canifis. Get your paper here!"

"Well, whatever we decide to do we should rest here first and decide tomorrow morning. It's getting late." Amphetro pointed upwards and sure enough the sun was beginning to set.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Ronaldo admitted defeat.

"Uh…guys,"

All looked up and followed where Marcus' finger was pointing.

The newspaper merchant was holding up one of his newspapers and on the cover, clear as day, was a picture of Shadow.

"Shadow!" Ronaldo practically flew over and swiped the newspaper out of the man's hand, ignoring his cry of outrage. "GUYS! This is Shadow! Shadow's in Canifis!"

The group surrounded him and stared at the paper in disbelief. "Shadow's going to be a slayer master…" Amphetro breathed out.

Marcus sucked on his teeth. "Well…so much for the theory of her not being alive, eh?"

"Uh…you know you have to pay for that." The merchant awkwardly told them.

"Which way to Canifis?" Ronaldo demanded of the salesman.

The merchant pointed to the east. "It's that way, but-hey!" the group took off with the paper still in their possession, ignoring the merchant's yells.

"What…about…resting for the night?" Mallory puffed behind them.

Ronaldo flashed a sympathetic look back to her. "Sorry, Mallory. We'll rest after we find Shadow, ok?"

Marcus looked back with a smirk. "You can stand to lose the extra pounds anyway." He winked at her.

She glared at him but didn't say anything else.

Ronaldo smiled and charged ahead. They had found Shadow! 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**Sorry for this being so much shorter than usual. I promise that the next chapter will have plenty more action to make up for it.**

**HOLY CRAP! The gang (minus Blake) is back in the picture! What will happen now that they know where Shadow is?**

**Also, since I didn't get many questions besides 'When will I update next?' I'm going to go ahead and say I think I'm doing pretty well at explaining what's going on. Thanks so much for your support and remember your reviews are what encourage me to write faster.**

**REVIEW!**


	18. Broken

Chapter 18 

* * *

Broken 

* * *

Shadow stumbled into Mazchna's office as if she had just returned from a drunken binge. Her hair was frizzy and unkempt and she had very faint dark circles under her eyes.

It had been merely 2 days since she became second in command of the guild and Mazchna was working her to the bone. Midnight had been promoted as the new group leader since now Shadow's current job was to move from one group to another to analyze their skills.

She had bounced around to about 20 different groups in a matter of 2 days. She had barely gotten a wink of sleep. She was having difficulty remembering what her bed looked like anymore.

"How did it go with Aqua and her group?" Mazchna sat in his chair in a dark corner, yet the darkness couldn't conceal the amusement in his eyes as he asked the question.

"Horrible." Shadow spat, "She made no secret how much she hates me."

Mazchna chuckled deeply, "That's precisely why I put you in her group. I wanted to assess how well you could handle her. There must be no rivalry between you or any other slayer. If one has it out for you, she could very well have the power to turn others against you as well."

"She'll cool off," Shadow said, "She's just another Madusa, all talk and no action…no offence." She added.

Mazchna stared at his lap. "Make no mistake, I love my daughter. But she'll never be qualified to run this guild."

Shadow didn't miss the flash of disappoint in his yellow eyes. "So who's my next group?" she tried to change the subject.

He looked up at her. "Your next objective is to take a break. Go outside, go for a walk, get some fresh air, whatever tickles your fancy."

She stared at him in utter shock. "You want me to REST? What do you think I am, a human?" she gently teased her demon mentor.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Alright smart-mouth, get going before I change my mind and make you spend the rest of the day in the kitchen with TETSU."

Shadow's teasing smile immediately dropped. "Oh gods anything but that! Fine, I'm going I'm going." She elbowed the door open and shot through it.

"Watch where you're going," Shadow didn't even flinch at the shrill voice behind her.

"Oh pardon me your majesty," Shadow faked a bow, "I was just finishing a talk with your father. He's my mentor now you know." She watched as the usual satisfying scowl from Madusa appeared on the half demon's face.

She merely hissed between her teeth and walked through the already open door. Shadow felt a surge of pride in herself for being one of the few slayers Madusa was afraid of.

After a few moments of contemplating, Shadow decided that she WOULD take a walk. There wasn't much point in trying to sleep in the middle of the day, no matter how dark it may be.

She got through the maze of tunnels and surfaced above the guild. She couldn't help but look back at the Haunted Woods. She would never admit it out loud, but the encounter with the vampires had left deeper scars than she let on. She wondered if she would ever be able to look at a solitary vampire and not shudder again.

She made sure to stay clear of the deeper, darker part of the woods as she walked toward Canifis. By now she had found out that the weird acting residents of the small town were in fact werewolves! When she had found out she couldn't say she was all that surprised. In this strange world all she had to do was imagine the weirdest possible thing and it was deemed to be true.

Shadow stepped out of the woods and onto the rocky pavement of Canifis. Everything seemed to be of the norm. Werewolf people were completely ignoring one another's presence and business was almost completely dead. Good old Canifis…

Shadow glanced over to the corner she had first met Mazchna in. The place where it had all began. The guild was so big now that he barely ever waited around this corner for new recruits anymore. Shadow smiled at the thought of someday waiting at that spot as a slayer master.

Life was truly good right now. She was finally doing something with her life that didn't involve thievery or any other activity that could land her in jail. Despite the news with Midnight, her life was beginning to get on track-

"…Shadow?"

Shadow's blood suddenly became icy cold.

Her heart sped up quite considerably and her feet were glued to the spot. The low voice behind her was one she hadn't heard in half a year. She could barely believe her ears. Maybe she was hearing things? But it was quite hard to mishear a voice she had practically heard since birth.

She was afraid, actually AFRAID, to turn around. Her mind was screaming at her to keep walking and pretend she hadn't heard the voice. Her mind must be playing tricks on her. It wasn't possible. How could he be here? WHY would he be here?

"Shadow?" she heard heavy footsteps come closer. "It's me…Ronaldo."

She clenched her eyes shut, willing this to be a dream. It would be the only way to explain why this was happening now. Why this was happening at ALL.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she didn't bother trying to hide the toxic sting in her words. She still didn't turn around. If she turned around then it would suddenly become real. At least this way she could cling on to the last threads of denial.

"It IS you!" she heard frantic footsteps and could all but feel the warmth of his body. She could sense his nervousness and awkwardness. She could practically hear options running through his head. What would he say? What would he do?

She finally forced herself to turn around and look at the same older sibling that had betrayed her months ago. He looked the same, though his dark brown eyes seemed to have more conflicting emotions in their depths.

"We looked for you everywhere." He took a step toward her and she stepped back, recoiling at the thought of him even touching her.

We? That question could wait. "Why are you here?" she repeated. "Explain to me why the hell you would think it would be a good idea to look for me after you outright BETRAYED me." She hissed through clenched teeth.

Any look of joy on his face vanished, replaced with hurt. "Shad…I-"

"Don't call me that." It took every muscle in her body to keep her voice level. "I don't want you here. You made your decision months ago where your loyalty lies. You don't get to come back here and pretend everything is ok when it's NOT."

"It's not like that!" his features were slowly looking angrier. "I spent months looking for you even when everyone else thought you were dead. I beat myself up every second you were gone."

"Well boo-freaking-hoo. While you were 'beating yourself up' in the safety of the hideout, I was cast out and forced to run away from guards BY MYSELF. I became so desperate I had to ask the Falador gang for help."

"Shadow, listen to me-"

"No! I don't have to hear anything that comes out of your mouth. You're not supposed to be here."

"Neither are you." Ronaldo glared.

"I made a home here. I made actual friends here and I don't have to worry about guards. I'm going to be a slayer master someday for the god's sakes!"

"This isn't where you belong, Shadow." He tried to convince. "You're-"

"A thief?" she spat. "Did you stop to think that maybe I never WANTED to be a thief?"

"And you think I did?" Ronaldo yelled. "I was put in harm's way just as much as you were!"

"NO. No you weren't." she started to back away. "When we were kids we promised to stay together and you ABANDONED me."

"You would have done the same thing if you were in my position,"

Shadow stopped walking backwards and slowly shook her head. "No, no I wouldn't have." And she knew what she said was true.

"Hey guys! It's Shadow! Shadow's over there!"

Shadow felt a large lump form in her throat as she watched almost her whole former gang emerge from the walls of the inn.

Before she knew it, she was surrounded by Marcus, Amphetro, and Narmo and bombarded with questions and exclamations.

"How did you find this place?"

"We looked everywhere for you!"

"We want you back, Shadow. Blake had no right to kick you out,"

"What the hell happened to your hair?"

But Shadow didn't hear any of them. Right in front of her was something that both amused and appalled her at the same time.

Mallory averted her eyes to the ground at her stare. "Shadow," She murmured a halfhearted greeting.

Though it wasn't her eyes she was looking at it.

It was the giant bulge where her flat stomach used to be.

"You're PREGNANT?"

All mouths closed shut at the sudden question. All eyes turned to look at the two girls.

Mallory glared at her. "Nice job at pointing out the obvious."

Shadow stifled a laugh. "I see Blake wasted no time finding another bimbo, huh?"

She scowled at her and crossed her arms. "For your information Blake and I never touched each other."

A snort of disbelief escaped from Amphetro and Marcus simultaneously.

"Let me guess…" Shadow took a second to suck on her teeth, quite finding enjoyment in this. It was bound to happen to the whore sooner or later, "you don't know WHO the father is?"

Mallory surprisingly kept a straight face. "Actually I do."

"Mall-"

"Who is it then?" Shadow challenged.

"Someone I think you're quite familiar with actually,"

"Mallory!"

Shadow's cocky smile faded and she turned around to look for the source of the yells.

"Ronaldo?" she whispered in disbelief.

Her brother refused to look at her straight in the eye. He was clearly attempting to look at anything BUT his horrified sister in front of him.

"YOU got Mallory PREGANT?"

An awkward silence passed over before, "Surprise!" Marcus lifted up his hands with a shout and a fake smile only not to get the amused reaction he was hoping for. He put his hands down again and cleared his throat.

"Imagine how shocked WE were," Amphetro chuckled awkwardly.

Shadow ignored them. "How do you know it's yours?" she asked him slowly. She didn't want to believe what she was hearing.

"Because he's the only one I…" Mallory paused, "…did 'things' with in the past couple months."

Shadow could only stare at Ronaldo.

Her brother looked uncomfortable under her glare. "Stop staring at me like that!" he snapped.

"WHAT THE HELL, RONALDO?" she finally bellowed out. "How could you sleep with HER? She's been out to get me since I first joined the freaking gang!"

"You were gone!" he growled, "and she made me feel…better."

Shadow rolled her eyes. "Oh that explains it then. She made you feel BETTER. Didn't Narmo or Marcus make you feel good? Did you sleep with them too? Or do you only do that with people I HATE?"

"Shadow, listen to me-"

"NO! I'm done listening to you." She rushed ahead past him, making sure to push him roughly aside. She could feel the hard stare of her former gang on her back, but she ignored it. To hell with them all. How could they possibly think it would be a good idea to come and ruin her life after she worked so hard to get it on the right track?

Everything was going so well and now her brother shows up out of nowhere declaring he got her worst enemy PREGNANT? Had he no sense?

All she wanted to do right now was go back to the guild and sleep. She wanted to pretend this whole thing was just a sick, twisted dream.

* * *

Shadow lied uncomfortably in her bed. She had waited over an hour for sleep to claim her, but it never did. Apparently her mind didn't want her to live in self-delusion. It wanted to make sure she knew that what happened was indeed reality. Thanks a lot mind…

She took her pillow and plunked it on top of her face. Why couldn't she just SLEEP? She had been doing it her whole life. Why was it suddenly so difficult to do?

She peeked through her pillow over at Midnight's bed. The Soulless hadn't been in this room since that morning. Shadow knew she was busy leading her new group, Shadow's old group. For the first time she felt a stab of jealously. At least Midnight could go on living with no major expectations or unwanted surprises.

She was out having fun with Argon and April without her. Shadow could just picture the three of them laughing, having a good time without her. They probably didn't even miss her.

Then she realized Midnight didn't laugh…

Shadow pressed the pillow harder against her head. Look what Ronaldo was doing to her. She was fine before! He had managed to create chaos in her head.

A sudden knock at the door made her growl.

"Go away!" she snapped rudely. Her voice was muffled by the pillow but was loud enough to be audible.

"Is that any way to speak to your mentor?" the low voice answered. Shadow felt her skin crawl. That wasn't even close to how she wanted to speak to her freaking mentor right now.

She sighed and rolled the pillow off of her face. "What do you want?" her voice was much clearer now.

"What I want is an explanation as to why there's a boy outside the guild asking to speak with you. He claims to be your brother."

Shadow's immediate reaction was to tell Mazchna to send him away, but she forced herself to stop and think rationally. If he insisted on seeing her and she kept sending him away he would never leave her alone. But if she talked to him…

"He has a companion with him," Mazchna suddenly continued.

Shadow's eyebrow twitched. "Did this companion happen to be blonde and her stomach abnormally large? Don't answer that," she quickly added, "I'll be up in a minute."

She felt the demon's presence outside still, but if he wanted to say anything else he held his tongue and she heard his footsteps as he walked away.

Shadow paused to take a deep breath. More than anything she wanted to stay in her bed and wait for them to get tired and go away. But her life didn't work like that apparently and she needed to go up there and talk to the two people she despised; one of them being her own blood.

She finally stumbled out of bed and treaded through the tunnels until she arrived at the stone door. She was surprised when it was already open and Mazchna was standing in front of it.

"Did they leave?" Shadow asked.

The demon shook his head, "I was going into the town anyway so I decided to hold the gate open for you."

Shadow narrowed her eyes. She found it slightly odd that her mentor would out of the blue decide to visit the town, especially when night was almost upon them; not to mention he hardly left the guild anymore. Still, she decided not to question him.

He closed the stone door behind them and they climbed to the surface. Outside Ronaldo was pacing impatiently and, just as Shadow had predicted, Mallory was with him.

When Ronaldo noticed them he stopped pacing. "You came," he said. He didn't sound relieved or all that happy. Only surprise dared to trickle into his tone.

"I'll be back soon," Mazchna seemed to act like the two strangers weren't even there. "Come find me if anything goes wrong." With that said, he made his way toward Canifis.

Shadow crossed her arms and let most of her weight fall on one leg. "Ok, I'm here. What do you want?" she refused to try to hide the poison seeping through her words.

Ronaldo glanced over to Mallory and then back to her, "To explain," he said, "I wanted to go somewhere where the whole freaking gang wasn't listening."

Shadow lifted up her hands to their quiet surroundings. Not one sound was made, not even the crackle of a leaf. "Private enough for you? Talk."

She half expected any second now for Mallory to make some snide or rude comment, but the pregnant blonde stayed surprisingly quiet as Ronaldo began explaining their situation.

"I never meant for anything to happen, "he began, "but after you left I was blaming myself for what happened and everyone else was agreeing with me that it was more than helping me…except Mallory. It was for ONE stupid night that I gave into temptation and accepted her offer to make me feel better. I felt so guilty and awkward afterwards that Mallory and I agreed we would never do it again. But apparently one night was all that was needed,"

He paused, obviously studying for his sister's reaction. Shadow kept her face stone hard and her emotions hidden. Instead she signaled for him to continue.

"After that night, she and Blake got together-"

"But we never did anything!" for the first time Mallory spoke. "Believe me, I tried. But I guess he could already tell something was wrong. He even made a comment asking me if I was getting fat. The bastard! A little while after the rest of the gang were gone, he started becoming more and more pissed off over small things. When he found out I was pregnant he kicked me out."

Her voice failed and she stared at the ground. Shadow expected it was more out of anger than sadness.

"So she found us and now…" he paused and Shadow could hear him swallow, "I…I don't want her to have to raise this baby alone,"

"YOU GUYS ARE GETTING TOGETHER?"

Shadow couldn't help it. The rage and fear of this happening just bubbled over and she blurted out the words without thinking.

Her brother glared at her. "It's the right thing to do-"

"You just said you didn't want to have anything to do with her after that night!"

"That was before I knew she was pregnant with MY baby,"

"What the hell does that matter? The whore brought it on herself," she sent daggers toward the girl that had been trying to get rid of her since they first met. "If it wasn't you it would have probably been Blake that got her pregnant."

"But it isn't Blake's, it's MINE." He growled. She knew he was willing her to understand but she didn't WANT to understand.

"You think this is a picnic for me?" Mallory snapped. "I never even wanted a kid!"

"Should have thought about that before you slept with Ronaldo," Shadow pointed out.

"Shadow," Ronaldo stepped forward, making Shadow cringe. "Like it or not this baby has my blood and I'm going to help take care of it. That means it also has YOUR blood. Doesn't that mean a single damn thing to you?"

Shadow shut her eyes and slowly shook her head. "As far as I'm concerned the baby is dead to me," she opened her eyes and the anger that was rising in her throat started to burn. She felt her eyes turning to liquid but didn't look away as she stared at the person she was once proud to call her brother. "And so are you,"

In the corner of her eye she saw Mallory step forward and lift up her hand, but Ronaldo blocked her way. She watched pain flash in his eyes and her brother opened his mouth to reply back to this harsh statement. But suddenly she heard a whizzing sound and he flinched.

And all that came out of his open mouth was blood.

Shadow felt her body grow numb as everything suddenly went into slow motion. She saw her brother slowly fall face down onto the cold ground. Three rune bolts sunk deep into his back, causing blood to pour out around them.

She vaguely heard the horrified cry of Mallory as she slowly looked up from Ronaldo's body. In front of them, halfway crouched inside a bush, was a Varrock guard. Not just any Varrock guard.

Bruce.

He had his rune crossbow facing straight at her and his finger was on the trigger. She couldn't move. All her common sense or thieving senses just left from her body. Her feet stayed glued to the ground and she could only watch as Bruce started to squeeze the trigger.

But just before the bolts were released and sunk deep into her flesh just as they had done to Ronaldo, a red blur leapt out from behind the bush and crashed onto the guard, snapping his neck instantly.

Shadow still couldn't move. She felt Mazchna's clawed paw on her shoulder and it gradually brought feeling back to her limbs.

She turned to look from Bruce's dead body to the body of her brother. Mallory crouched down beside it and was screaming bloody murder. Horrible flashbacks went through Shadow's brain of a little boy and girl kneeling beside the dead bodies of their parents.

"He's dead, Shadow" Mazchna whispered in her ear. "I must get the bodies to a safer place before the vampires smell the blood. Do you wish to grieve first?"

Shadow immediately shook her head. Her voice was clear as she said, "No. Do what you want with it,"

She turned away from her mentor and the dead body of her brother. She walked down back to the guild and didn't look back. The shrieking and sobbing of Mallory began to fade.

The horrible thing was she felt no grief or sadness. Right now she felt nothing. She was just cold. No tears were coming out of her eyes.

With everything that happened to her in her life this just felt…insignificant.

Could it be, perhaps, she was finally broken? 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**The chapter was a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be…but I was right about the action.**

**WHAT? Ronaldo is DEAD? How will Shadow cope with all this? And what will happen to Mallory and her baby now?**

**REVIEW!**


	19. Forgiven

Chapter 19 

* * *

Forgiven 

* * *

Shadow walked silently with her head facing straight forward. She walked with one of the groups from the guild. Their gazes occasionally flashed toward her and then straight again. They had barely said two words the whole trip. It was their turn for Shadow to asses them and like all the other groups lately they could barely look her in the eye.

It had been two days since Ronaldo's murder. Mazchna had insisted time and time again for her to take a break from her second in command duties, but she refused. She told him she was fine and she continued doing the jobs he gave her.

After all, she WAS fine. The death of her brother hadn't faltered her performances in any way. Why would it? Life goes on and she learned to go on with it a long time ago. She just wished the guild wouldn't look at her with such pity in their eyes.

She knew they believed she was faking her strong face. Well she wasn't! Even Midnight seemed to be treating her differently. Though she couldn't express sympathy like the others, she had very rarely talked to her directly in the past few days. When she first found out about Ronaldo's death she had even awkwardly asked if she needed a hug.

Why couldn't they understand she was FINE? They never showed this much care. Even when she came back to the guild bleeding, bruised, and with shards of glass sticking out of her skin they only stifled laughs.

Today had been especially bad. It was the day of her deceased brother's funeral. It had ended a few hours ago and she had not attended. She didn't see a point in going. What's done is done. Why go to express grief she did not have?

They had passed through Canifis and just started stepping into the woods when suddenly a voice called out, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Shadow stiffened in surprise and turned around. Mallory was hobbling toward her. Her face was fixated into a glare and she looked like she had been crying. Shadow realized she must have come there straight from the funeral.

"You guys go ahead," Shadow ordered the rest of the group, "I'll give Mazchna my assessment on you later." The group nodded and left her alone with the pregnant blonde.

"What kind of sister are you?" Mallory growled after they were gone, "Ronaldo had one family member left, ONE. And she didn't even bother showing up to his funeral."

Shadow rolled her eyes and folded her arms. She REALLY didn't want to have this conversation right now. "I didn't see any point in going," she said truthfully. "Besides, Ronaldo had his friends so it's not like no one showed up."

Mallory grit her teeth and clenched her hands. "That's not the point, idiot! You didn't even act like you CARED that he died right in front of your eyes. At first I thought you were just dealing with grief in your own way, but you don't look put back on this at all."

"You're right, I'm not," Shadow shrugged, "Life goes on and-"

"LIFE GOES ON?" Mallory's face seemed to be turning redder. "HE WAS YOUR BROTHER FOR THE GOD'S SAKES!"

"Apparently blood didn't mean anything to HIM, so why should it mean anything to ME?"

Shadow could tell Mallory was ready to burst. She was red and breathing hard while Shadow was calm and collected.

Finally, Mallory shut her eyes and turned away from her. "Sorry, I just thought you would want to express sympathy for someone that loved you as much as he did. But then again, it's not like he spent months searching for you right? It's not like his face lit up when he found out where you were."

Shadow's face remained the same. "If he loved me so much he wouldn't have betrayed me in the first place. Besides, you know NOTHING about the relationship between my brother and me. You don't know what I went through with or without him."

Mallory turned to face her again and for the first time Shadow noticed how tired she looked. And, despite being pregnant, her sides looked thin as if she hadn't eaten well in a long while.

"I fell in love with him," Mallory out of nowhere admitted in a whisper. "Now that he's dead I'll never know if he felt the same way. But I can be sure of one thing…" she stepped forward until she was right in front of the taller girl, "he loved you. He was SO sorry for what he did that he gave up everything he had to find you again. Everyone else thought you were dead, but he never gave up hope. You're telling me that means NOTHING to you?"

For the first time Shadow felt an ache in her heart. But when she looked down at Mallory's stomach it only reminded her of all the wrong things he had done. She couldn't forgive him.

"What's done is done," Shadow turned around and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Shadow tensed when Mallory suddenly grabbed her arm. "Please…don't go."

She heard an odd rustle and felt Mallory's arm travel down until it was clinging onto her leg. Shadow glanced over and rolled her eyes at the sight before her. Mallory was crouched on the ground and staring up at her. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Please," she started to beg, "I have nowhere else to go. Ronaldo was going to take care of me and now he's dead. The baby's going to be born soon and I don't want to have to have it in an old abandoned hideout by myself."

Shadow sighed and moved her legs out of the way. "Can't you ask Narmo, Amphetro, or Marcus for help?"

Mallory shook her head quickly. "Narmo might have helped me if it wasn't for Amphetro and Marcus hates me just as much as her."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Shadow growled. "I'm not a walking nursery and in case you haven't noticed, I hate you too."

Mallory bowed her head and Shadow had to hold back a groan as a sob overtook her body. "Please…" she managed to say through a sob. "I'm so sorry for everything I've done or said to you. Just please don't take it out on the baby."

Shadow rubbed a hand over her face. How she hated this, words could not describe. Her thief side wanted to leave Mallory here, but the goodness in her demanded she help her.

Besides, even though she cringed at the thought, she WAS carrying her niece or nephew.

Shadow groaned out loud and took her time spitting out the bile filled words, "Fine…I GUESS I could talk to Mazchna about getting you a place to stay-"

"OH, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Shadow grunted when Mallory suddenly embraced her in a hug.

Shadow scrambled out and backed away, brushing off her clothes. "Just because I'm helping you, doesn't mean we're friends." she pointed out.

Mallory still had a smile plastered on her face. "But you're the first one to offer me any help when I've done nothing but be a jerk to you. So, thank you."

Shadow shrugged. "Whatever. It's not like we're going to share a room together. You'll have your own place and I can keep doing my second in command duties."

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE GOING TO SHARE A ROOM?"

Mazchna narrowed his yellow eyes. "You know as well as I do that we can't spare a room, let alone one for a pregnant non-slayer. This isn't a charity case."

Shadow let out a long sigh. "I know that we're low on rooms. But I just thought-"

"You act as if I'm punishing you by agreeing to let your friend stay here. Don't forget I'm doing you a favor. If the other slayer guilds find out I've taken in a pregnant human I'll be the laughing stock of the slayers."

Shadow stared at the floor, resisting the urge to tell him she wasn't really her friend. "I understand," she looked back up, "but is there ANY way for her to be in another room?"

"I plan to have the guild expanded soon, but that will still take a month, maybe more. She'll stay with Ramankila when the child is born and then, if the rooms are finished, she'll be moved into her own room. Until then she'll stay with you. Satisfied?"

She's still rather not be anywhere near Mallory, but she didn't really have a choice. She made a promise and she had to keep it. She dipped her head, muttered thanks, and exited the office where Mallory was waiting outside.

"So?" Mallory asked when she came out, expectancy dancing in her eyes. "Can I stay here or not?"

Shadow swallowed back the bile that seemed to have taken a liking to her throat on this particular day. "We can't spare any rooms right now, so…you're going to stay in my room for the time being." She managed to spit out the words.

Shadow spotted the flash of resentment across the blonde's face before she hid it with a smile. "Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. You won't even know I'm there, I swear!"

A thought suddenly occurred to Shadow. Why hadn't she thought of this before? "There is one thing I forgot to mention…" Shadow began awkwardly.

Mallory frowned. "What? The room isn't an old torture chamber is it?"

Shadow glared at her. "No. It's just that I already have a roommate and she's, well, different and doesn't really like strangers."

Mallory shrugged. "I'm sure I can handle her. It's not like she's a blood sucking vampire…is she?"

Shadow held back a laugh. "No. She's not a vampire. She's-"

"Then she won't be a problem," Mallory lifted her chin confidently. "Which way is my new room?"

Shadow bit back a growl and instead pointed her vaguely in a direction. "This way," Mallory barged in front of her and entered the tunnel she had pointed to.

"It'll be nice to have a real bed." Mallory was gabbing away as they headed toward their destination. "Ronaldo had us running around everywhere looking for you-"

"Let's not talk about him." Shadow tried to stop her. It was bad enough just knowing her worst enemy was carrying a part of her deceased brother. She didn't have to talk about him and remind her every few seconds.

But Mallory didn't seem to hear her murmur. "-and to top it off I have to carry around what can only be described as a giant rock in my stomach. Imagine having to run around with it. I would be thin as a twig if I wasn't pregnant. Well, more than I already was." Mallory smirked proudly.

"Yeah that's great. Oh, look! Here we are." Shadow mentally sighed in relief at the sight of her door. She half hoped Midnight was inside. Maybe the sight of her Soulless friend would shut up this chatterbox.

Sadly she couldn't be so lucky. She opened the door and there was no one to be seen.

"It's not exactly a luxury inn," Mallory sniffed as she walked inside and gazed around, "but I guess it'll have to do. Which bed is mine?"

Shadow clenched her teeth. Sometimes she thought Mallory had two different personalities. "Look below your feet. There's your bed." She snapped and began to gather up unused blankets from her own bed.

She could feel Mallory's anger hit her like a lightning bolt. "You've got to be joking! I can't sleep on the dirty old floor. I'm PREGNANT!"

"Gee, I had no idea." Shadow hissed under her breath.

"Can't your friend give up her own bed or something?"

Shadow opened her mouth to give her a scathing remark on how retarded she was, then closed it. "I don't know," she said smoothly, "why don't you ask her when she gets here."

"Fine, I will. You may not believe this, but SOME people find me very likeable."

"Oh, I bet." Shadow threw the blankets and the pillow at her. "You're quite the charming person. In fact, you're so charming that nobody wants to be around you. Ever."

Shadow was surprised when the anger in Mallory's eyes died away to hurt. She shut her mouth and dropped the blankets onto Midnight's bed and sat beside them with her eyes on the floor.

Shadow held back another groan. Was this one of those hormonal mood swings pregnant people got? Was she going to cry again?

"I can't help the way I am." She finally whispered. "I grew up getting everything I wanted when I wanted it."

Shadow rolled her eyes. "Not surprising. Why'd you become a thief? Daddy's money ran out?"

Mallory's head snapped up to glare at her. "You don't know anything about me. Stop making assumptions."

She shrugged her shoulders and sat beside the blonde. "You're right. I don't know anything about you. Enlighten me."

Mallory looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "You really want to hear about my past?"

"Something had to happen to turn you into this monster that you are." Shadow folded her arms. "I want to know what."

Mallory's green eyes were starting to turn glassy. She quickly blinked them clear and stared off into space. "It's been so long since I thought about it…" she whispered.

For a minute Shadow thought she would have the same problem she had and would not be able to recall her memories. Then her eyes cleared as if a light lit up inside her.

"Ardougne," Shadow flinched at the name and mentally cursed herself for it as Mallory continued. "I was born in Ardougne. Well, not exactly. Technically I was born in Seer's Village and raised in Ardougne. My father was the king of West Ardougne-"

"He was KING?" Shadow leaned forward. She had meant to find new ways to persecute her and instead was getting interested. "You're a princess, an actual princess?"

Mallory sighed. This had to be the first time there was no sense of bragging in her tone. "Sort of; my father was married to the queen of Ardougne and cheated on her with another woman, my mother, a simple peasant. After about a year my father finally ended the affair. By then my mother was already pregnant with me and had moved to Seer's Village to give birth. My father found out and, unfortunately, so did his wife. After I was born, his wife had my mother slaughtered and my father took me in." She turned to look at Shadow, her eyes filled with cold pain. "Not that he had much of a choice."

"If word got out that he had his dirty little secret and her daughter, his daughter, killed there would be an uprising with his people. So he hid the murder and his wife announced they had a daughter. I was raised in a palace. I had everything I ever wanted. Well, almost everything."

Shadow narrowed her eyes. "You had servants, money, and no rules? Yeah, sounds like hell to me."

"My father never loved me." She blurted out. "He only pretended to when people were around. My stepmother treated me like trash. My father didn't even want to look at me. The only reason I got whatever I wanted was so he never had to be around me. I had a room full of toys and still cried myself to sleep."

Shadow was fighting the urge to feel pity for her and was losing. She knew what it was like to cry in the middle of the night without a mother or father to comfort her. But, she had Ronaldo…

"I got private fighting lessons as I got older. I barely saw outside the walls of the palace. Throughout growing up I started to steal things from the palace that weren't mine. They were usually only little things. I took them when I tried to talk to my father and he denied or ignored me. Taking those items made me feel better."

"Did you think your stepmother was actually your mother?" Shadow suddenly asked. "How did you find out the truth about where you came from?"

"I always knew she wasn't my real mother. What I didn't know was what happened to my actual mother. One day my stepmother let something slip and my father was forced to tell me the truth. By then I was way beyond level 3 and left the palace. I had no idea what I was going to do. Every achievement I ever got was spoon fed to me. I traveled to Varrock where I met Blake. He had lost his way too and was forming a thieving gang. He asked me to join and I agreed since I had experience in stealing things. After that I spent every waking moment of my life trying to win the affection of someone who only cares about gold."

Shadow found herself nodding. She understood what she was feeling. They actually had more in common than she had thought. It was shocking.

"I'm sorry," Shadow had said the words before they even registered in her mind. "I guess I shouldn't have judged you so quickly."

Mallory looked into her green eyes. "I'm not looking for an apology. I wanted you to see I'm not this stuck up girl you see me as. I want you to forgive me and to give me another chance." She stopped and suddenly placed a hand on her arm. Shadow was surprised to find she didn't get sick at her touch. "Please. Forgive me?"

Shadow took her time thinking this over. They WERE going to live together. And she would get eaten alive in the guild if she didn't have her to help her through it…

"I'll forgive you on one condition." Mallory leaned forward. "Don't mention Ronaldo anymore."

Mallory immediately opened her mouth, but shut it again. "Ok…I won't say his name anymore." Shadow could tell it hurt her to agree to this, but she had to. She just wondered how long it would last. How long could someone go without saying the name of their child's father?

"Then…I guess I could give you another chance-HUMPH!"

Mallory suddenly lunged forward and hugged her yet again. "Thank you! I'll try to be better and-"

"You want to be better?" Shadow pushed her off of her and stood up. "Then rule number one: I don't like to be hugged. Which means I REALLY don't want to be hugged by you."

"Sorry." Mallory said. "I'm just happy that things are finally starting to look up for me. It's a good feeling." She started to shift around on the bed and frowned. "What the hell?" she muttered under her breath.

She pulled out Midnight's book from under her and Shadow grimaced. "I…don't think you should be touching that." She warned.

Mallory stared at her. "Why? Is it a diary?" she immediately opened it and started rapidly flipping through the pages.

"Not exactly," Shadow said, expecting the blonde to burst into flames any second. "It's my roommates and she kind of needs it."

"This is the worst diary ever." Mallory scoffed, ignoring her. "The words are all in freaking gibberish."

"That's because it's a spell book to control the balance between darkness and light and if you do something to that book you may have doomed us all."

Mallory looked at her for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. "You're funny. I didn't know you could even DO funny. Seriously, is this some kind of secret code or something?"

"No! It's-"

"Hello?"

Shadow stopped midsentence and turned around to see Midnight herself at the door. She was so busy arguing that she hadn't even realized the Soulless was there.

"Midnight, this is-"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Mallory jumped up in surprising speed for someone who was heavily pregnant, dropping the book in the process. "Get away from me, monster!" she backed herself against the wall and trembled in fright.

Midnight merely narrowed her eyes at her and slowly bent down to pick up her book. After that was safely in her hands she turned to give Shadow a questioning stare.

"Midnight…this is Mallory." Shadow gestured to the scared girl. "She's kind of going to stay with us for a while."

Midnight stayed calm. She slowly looked at Mallory and then back to her, her red eyes giving away no emotion.

"Mallory, this is my roommate Midnight." Shadow explained. "There are a lot of creatures like her in the guild so you're going to have to get used to it."

"Why does she look so weird?" Mallory asked rudely.

"I'm a demon that's come back from the darkest pits of hell to feed on annoying blonde humans that ask stupid questions. Now, why do YOU look so weird?" Midnight asked her without missing a beat.

Mallory had stopped trembling and was just staring at her with wide eyes now.

"Well I can see this going well." Shadow announced loudly. "Mallory did you want to ask Midnight about her bed now?"

"What about my bed?"

"Nothing," Mallory said at once. "I'm good with the floor."

Shadow smirked before Midnight started pushing her until they were both outside of the room.

"Do you mind explaining to me why a pregnant human is staying in our room?" Midnight asked flatly.

Shadow sucked on her teeth before answering. "Well…it's a long painful story. Would you like that version or the short version?"

"Short version,"

"My own blood knocked up my worst enemy and now that my own blood is dead, my worst enemy came and begged me to help her since apparently she is carrying my niece or nephew. Since there're no rooms to spare she'll have to stay with us for the time being."

"You don't seem like the type of person to do the whole Good Samaritan thing." Midnight pointed out.

"There's a first time for everything. I'm not asking you to put up with her annoying comments but try not to kill her. Please?"

Midnight breathed out a long sigh. "Fine, but if she touches my book again I'll have to hurt her."

"Fair enough," Shadow smiled. "Thanks Mid. I don't think I could do this without your support."

"Yeah, yeah." Midnight turned to open the door.

Something suddenly occurred to Shadow. "Doesn't April and Argon have an extra bed since Haley quit the guild?"

"Yes. Apparently she couldn't take living in the same place as Argon."

Shadow laughed quietly. "I don't blame her. Can you help me bring it in so Mallory doesn't have to highjack your bed?"

"Yeah-wait what?"

Shadow was already heading to the purple twin's room. "No time now I'll explain later." Shadow told her quickly.

* * *

Shadow pulled the hood lower across her face. She was heading toward Varrock and, even though she knew it was safe for her to be in by now; she still got chills coming here. There were just lingering memories that followed her around like taunting ghosts.

She tried not to look anxious when she finally reached the huge door in southern Varrock leading to the city. Two guards were guarding it and they were heavily armored while she chose to wear nothing but a cloak and hood and her regular clothes. She didn't even have her hidden dagger she always carried with her. She didn't want to raise suspicion toward herself.

Since she had become second in command in the guild the guards had decided she had changed and dropped the charges toward her. Besides, as far as they knew she hadn't actually stolen anything. She had just attempted to steal something.

She had also found out that Bruce, the guard that had murdered her brother, had been fired just the day before the murder. Shadow wondered what happened. He was chief guard! Judging by how he had crossed the line between the dark lands and Varrock she assumed he had stalked Ronaldo and the rest of the gang back to there. Maybe he was so obsessed with catching them that the other guards declared him crazy and fired him.

Whatever the case may have been he was dead now. Mazchna hadn't been punished for killing an ex-guard since Bruce had broken the agreement between the Canifis people and Varrock. The fact that Bruce had killed one person, going on two, didn't help his cause either.

Still, she couldn't help but be apprehensive. She hadn't stepped foot into the city since she had made a mad dash through it months ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago by now.

"Halt!" one of the guards stopped her when she got too close. He looked at her up and down, his eyes narrowed through his helmet. "Remove your hood." He commanded.

Shadow resisted snapping at him and pulled back her hood. "I am Shadow from the Canifis Slayer Guild." She announced herself. It felt weird to tell a guard of any kind her real name rather than a fake one. "I'm just here to visit."

It was the truth. Between her second in command duties, being Mazchna's apprentice, and having to deal with Mallory's constant nagging and complaining she had to get out of the guild and stretch her legs. Now that she had no reason to fear this place she felt it would be nice to go there just for old times.

"She's the new second in command." The other guard whispered to his partner. "From the paper,"

The first guard nodded to what he said but still held his glare. "What's under your cloak?" he asked.

Shadow lifted her cloak to reveal nothing but her clothes. "I'm not carrying any weapons. Are we done here or do you want to strip search me as well?" she growled.

The second guard perked up at this but the first guard merely turned, muttered something to his companion, and they opened the large doors for her.

She nodded at them and entered through the doors, taking this time to cover her face with her hood once more. She wondered if anyone else would recognize her. She hoped not. As a former thief she was used to keeping to the shadows, not being in the spotlight.

She reached Varrock Square where everything was just as she remembered it. Groups of people were talking loud or whispering to each other, children played, poor people begged, and rich people bragged. Shadow figured everything must be even better than normal considering there was no thieving gang anymore.

For a second she wondered what had happened to Blake. Was he still living in the hideout by himself? Had he recruited new thieves? Perhaps he had decided to try and earn an honest living; probably not. He was most likely in jail.

Even though it was against her better judgment, her feet were automatically taking her to her old hideout. She didn't really think anything would be wrong with that. She would just go in, look around to see what had become of it, and get back to the guild.

She remembered the route exactly and in no time was standing in front of the door in the basement to the old crumbling house where her gang had once called home. She looked around before going inside. She had never really been afraid of this place before, but this time was different. The atmosphere was almost eerie. Before she felt like she belonged her and now she was just a stranger.

She opened the door and looked inside. It was dark but had enough light for her to see. Torn clothes still lied on the floor and random items were torn, shattered, or just lying with the clothes. It looked like a tornado had run through the place.

Shadow stepped inside. She immediately opened another door that led to Blake's room by habit. Sometimes, when she stayed over, it was both their rooms. The memories made her shake with disgust. She wished she could erase them from her mind as she had done with her older memories.

Inside the huge bed was torn apart. Shadow was beginning to form a picture in her head. Mallory telling Blake she was pregnant, Blake, already having lost most of his gang, throwing things around in a rage before kicking Mallory out. Then after nearly destroying the hideout, Blake falling to his knees in a mental break down. She could see it as clearly as if she had witnessed it for herself.

She traced her hand across the bed. She didn't know what to think of her conflicting emotions. Part of her was happy she had left this life behind. But there was always that one part of her that would miss this life of stealing and fun and games. Being a thief would always be a part of her. She would always be bound to it, no matter how much she changed.

She whipped her hand away from the bed as if something bit her. The walls around her suddenly felt very small. She needed to get out of here and go back to her guild. Mazchna would start to get worried.

She practically ran under she was outside of the abandoned hideout. She convinced herself it was because she needed to hurry back to the guild, not because she was afraid.

She lurked through the dark alleyways, heading back for the square. She was suddenly very aware of how dark it was here. Her heart was speeding up but she forced her legs to keep at a steady pace.

"You're imagining things again, Shadow." She growled to herself.

Before she could react she was suddenly grabbed violently and a large arm wrapped around her neck and a hand slapped itself over her mouth. She let out a muffled yell and prepared to elbow and kick her attacker, but before she could she felt cold steel against her throat.

"Do not move or I'll slit your throat."

Shadow felt herself go rigid. She recognized the whisper against her ear. She knew the voice almost as well as she knew her own.

Blake.

"Walk" he whispered the command and started dragging her away from the safety of the Varrock walkways and farther down into the slums.

"Blake, what the hell-"she stopped when she felt the dagger graze closer against her soft flesh. Clearly her attacker was in no mood to talk.

They said nothing until Blake finally led her to a tall structure with a ladder that led upwards. Shadow realized this must be one of the guard's watchtowers. Why would Blake take her here?

Blake shoved her against the ladder and she felt the sharp dagger against her back in an instant. She cursed herself for not bringing her own dagger after all. "Get up there. And don't try anything or I'll sink this into your back."

Shadow considered trying to turn around and fight him. But with her against the watchtower and a dagger poking her back she knew it wouldn't be one of her smartest decisions. She decided to do as she was told and started to climb up the ladder. The dagger never left her back for a second and she felt Blake right behind her at all times.

When they reached the top he pushed her forward until they were at the edge of the watchtower. Shadow couldn't help but look down. It was a long drop. Anyone to fall down it from here would surely break their neck.

"What do you want with me?" she asked Blake. She made sure her voice was clear and without fear even though inside she was starting to shake.

"You ruined EVERYTHING FOR ME." She forced herself not to flinch at his rage filled tone. "I had everything I could have ever wanted and you took it all away from me. It's your entire fault. You snatched my gang away from me. IT'S YOUR FAULT EVERYTHING'S GONE." He shoved her so hard that she fell to her knees and had to cling on to the edge of the watchtower to keep her from falling.

"It's not my fault." Shadow growled despite the situation. "You brought everything on yourself. YOU were the one that kicked me out in the first place and YOU were the one that was so consumed by greed that the rest of the gang had to leave. You always let gold take first place in your life and that's what destroyed you. Not me."

"SILENCE!" Shadow gasped in pain when she felt the blade slash against her back. She felt the blood start to drip but knew it wasn't deep enough to be fatal. Still, she gritted her teeth at the sting.

She was breathing heavily but still said "You can kill me if you want. It still doesn't change the fact that you were the one that chose your own fate-AH!" her head was yanked back by her hood and Blake turned her around until she was facing him. He crouched down until he was level with her and placed the already bloody dagger back against her throat.

"I want you to look me in the eyes when I take your life." He whispered to her darkly. "I want my face to be the last thing you see so that you truly know what it means to have everything taken away from you."

Shadow knew she couldn't wait any longer. Despite the wound on her back she knew she had to fight. She threw out her arm to shove away his outstretched arm with the dagger and at the same time kicked out her leg to throw him off balance.

She forced herself to stand up and dodged just in time as Blake attempted to swipe the dagger at her. She used her arms to block his blows and jumped up whenever he tried to kick her. She was dangerously close to the edge and knew she couldn't keep blocking his attacks forever.

She dodged one way and suddenly his free hand was grasped around her neck. He had a hold of her and he leaned her down until she was halfway off the watchtower and the only thing keeping her from falling was his hand.

"You think you can outfight me? I TAUGHT YOU EVERYTHING YOU KNOW." She tried to breathe as his hand squeezed harder against her neck. "You're a traitor and not fit to be called a thief. And you'll die a traitor just like the Falador gang did."

"What?" Shadow managed to bubble out.

The Falador gang was…dead?

She felt the weight on her neck lift and was suddenly falling through the air. Everything was happening so quickly that she barely knew what was going on. First a laugh of triumph, then a flash of yellow, and then a thump before everything went black. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**Shadow can't be dead…can she? And what was that flash of yellow? Keep reading to find out!**

**I have two things to thank you guys for. First: this story has reached 3000 hits! So thank you guys so much for that and all your support and love for this story.**

**Second: the reason why I took so long was because I actually entered a writing contest and I have you guys to thank for giving me the confidence I needed to even try to enter it. I love you guys for that.**

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	20. The Prince and the Princess

Chapter 20 

* * *

The Prince and the Princess 

* * *

Shadow jolted awake with a loud gasp. She sat up abruptly only to flinch with a searing pain across her back. Her vision was blurry but she could still see unfamiliar shapes around her. She tried to remember what had happened last before she passed out. She remembered brown menacing eyes burning into her skull.

Brown eyes…Blake!

She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision so she could bolt out of there. She needed to get back to the guild and warn Mallory. With Blake on the rampage there was no telling what he was capable of doing.

Her vision finally cleared and she could take a better look around. There was a small fire in front of her and a dirt ceiling and dirt walls surrounded her. Did Blake see that she survived and was trying to suffocate her now?

She tensed but then realized she was lying on blankets. Why would Blake bother trying to make her death comfortable? She moved her hand around and it hit something wooden. She looked down and was surprised to see a bowl of hot soup next to her.

Where the hell was she?

"Morning sleepy head,"

She jumped at a sudden voice and grit her teeth as her back screeched in pain once again. What was she going to do? She was weaponless and wounded. She started to panic, then calmed herself down and tried to think logically. Why would someone wrap her in blankets and feed her soup just to kill her afterwards?

"Who are you?" she asked defensively. The voice came from the shadows so she couldn't see who spoke. The voice sounded familiar but her head was buzzing too much for her to be able to think straight.

A light chuckle answered her. "Shadow, I'm hurt. You don't recognize me?"

Shadow pushed herself back in spite of her wound as the voice came into the light of the fire. Her eyes flew open as she tried to comprehend what was happening. "Cloud!" she gasped. "But…you're dead. So does that mean I'm dead?"

A stupid question she could regret asking later. Gentle blue eyes gazed at her fondly and his heart melting smirk appeared. "Last I checked I was alive. Guess you wouldn't know since the last time we saw each other you kind of pushed me off a ledge." He let out a nervous laugh. "Ironic, huh?"

Shadow glared at him. "Stay away from me. I'm still plenty able to fight if you-"

"I'm not going to hurt you." Cloud said quickly. "Would I have brought you here and bandaged your wound if I was?"

Shadow quickly patted her back. He was right. There were clearly bandages wrapped around her back. "Why?" she growled. "Is this another sick game you're playing with my head?"

Cloud stared at the dirt ground he crouched on. "Guess I deserved that." He tried to edge closer but she backed off. Memories of when she twisted her leg and he offered to help her flashed in her mind. "Shadow…I'm so sorry."

She raised an eyebrow. That was the last thing she expected him to say. "You're…sorry?"

"Hurting you like I did was the dumbest thing I ever did. I deserved what you did to me. I was a giant asshole and a player. But I swear, I've changed!" he added eagerly.

She looked at him in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that?" she growled. "I can't trust you or your gang. You sent the freaking guards after me and I was almost thrown in jail!"

"I know, I know. I was acting out of anger and I'm sorry. But I HAVE changed."

She merely glared at him. She didn't want to hear his lies right now. At the moment all she cared about was how and why she was where she was. "Where's Blake?" she demanded. "If he's still out there I need to get out of here and warn my old gang-"

"He's dead." Shadow stared at him in shock as he continued, "I didn't kill him. I saw you and him fighting on top of the watchtower and by the time I got up it he had thrown you off. When he turned around and saw me I attacked him. He was so in shock that he didn't fight back at first. But then I guess he knew how weak he was compared to me and he told me he wouldn't let me have the satisfaction of killing him and plunged the dagger into his chest. I left him there and carried you to this place."

Shadow felt her face grow hot at the thought of being in his arms, but she quickly puffed it away and asked, "Where exactly is this place?"

Cloud smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Shadow opened her mouth to threaten him but he stopped her with a chuckle. "Calm down. We're in an abandoned underground tunnel from an old thieving gang. It's right next to the Grand Exchange."

Shadow took a moment to process this. There was an underground tunnel next to the Grand Exchange and her gang never knew about it? It didn't add up. But she couldn't think too much about it right now. There were more pressing matters to deal with.

"Why did you save me?" she demanded. "Why are you even here? Are you and your gang here to conquer now that my gang doesn't exist anymore?"

Cloud stared at her for a few minutes. His brilliant blue gaze was unreadable and Shadow didn't like it. Finally he spoke, "I came here to find you."

Shadow felt her heart skip but tried to ignore it. "Why?"

"Because I haven't stopped thinking about you since you left." Cloud murmured, his gaze remaining unreadable. "You were always on my mind. I couldn't focus on thieving or leading my gang. Melody finally convinced me to leave and find you."

Her heart was steadily beating faster and faster and she felt her palms start to sweat. What the hell was wrong with her? This was CLOUD she was talking to.

"So you expected to find me, say this, and think I'd fall into your arms? Life isn't a fairytale. I'm not a damsel in distress. I can take care of myself." She tried to stand up but sat back down with a growl of pain.

Cloud smiled at her. "It's ok to ask for help every now and again, you know." His eyes flicked to the bowl beside her. "You should drink your soup before it gets cold."

"My guild will kill me if I'm not back soon. I don't have time for freaking soup." The words came out dry and she knew there was no way she would get back to her guild in this condition. Like it or not she had to accept Cloud's help…again.

Cloud shrugged. "It's been a day already. If they weren't going to kill you now they definitely are now. You might as well go there in good condition for the execution."

Shadow was utterly confused. Cloud was pretending that nothing bad had happened between them. His facial expression held no hint of anger and his jokes and laughter were genuine.

"What is it that you really want, Cloud?" she snapped. "You never do things for people just to be nice. You always have a hidden motive and I want to know what it is this time."

Cloud leaned back. "What do I want? I want you to be healthy and happy. I want you to believe me when I tell you I've changed. I want you to stop looking at me with suspicion in your eyes. But mostly," he paused to lean forward and to stare directly into her eyes, "I want you."

She gulped. Her face was burning up so much that she had to turn away from his stare. Yet anger still smoldered in her heart. "What about Rose?" she asked clearly despite the weird feeling in her throat.

She felt Cloud shuffle slightly. "She's dead." He told her flatly. "A while ago Mel and I were on the tower talking and when we came down and entered the hideout we found Rose lying dead on the ground. Her throat was slit and she looked like she had been in a fight. Flame and Irit were nowhere near the hideout at the time and we never found out who murdered her."

Shadow could take a guess. A scene with Blake sneaking into the hideout as stealthy as a shadow and attacking Rose flashed in her mind. She knew Blake was more than capable.

"So I'm just a second choice then?" she growled. "Don't have your old toy so you need a new one?"

He didn't look taken back or hurt. Instead something appeared in his eyes that Shadow couldn't place, but it took her breath away. "Shadow…you don't get it do you? You were never second best. Our lives were always connected and intertwined, even if we didn't realize it at the time."

Shadow stared at him as if he just announced he was going to grow wings and fly away. "What the hell are you talking about now?"

"You never made the connection?" she shook her head with a confused look. "You never noticed how much we show up in each other's life?" he persisted. "It can't just be a coincidence."

Shadow really didn't have a clue what he was talking about. As far as she knew they had officially met when they bumped into each other on the stairs when her first big job went horribly wrong. What was he talking about?

Cloud shook his head. "Never mind; you'll get it after I tell you something."

"Tell me what?"

"My past,"

Shadow stared at him in surprise. Cloud didn't seem like the type of person to give away details about where he came from too easily. "Why?"

"To help prove to you that I'm not the heartless thieving gang leader you see me as. I was normal once. I was a good person." He stopped and searched her face before continuing with, "I still am."

"Why should I believe that?" Shadow couldn't ignore the part of her that desperately wanted to believe him. But she had always been a bad judge of character before. Why would this time be any different? She had fallen for his fake act before and for a moment he had made her believe he really loved her. She didn't want that to happen again. She couldn't. She'd been hurt too many times.

Cloud took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You might want to get comfortable for this. It's a long story."

Shadow hesitated before giving in and settling down in the blankets. She suddenly noticed the pain in her stomach and lifted up the bowl of soup to her mouth. After a glance over at her observer, she took a sip of the lukewarm substance.

Cloud smiled warmly at her once again. "How is it?"

"It's fine." She answered quietly. In fact, it was delicious. But she would never admit that out loud. "The story?" she prompted.

Cloud nodded. "I guess I should start from the beginning, huh?" his smile vanished and his icy blue eyes turned slightly gray as he dug deep into his memories. Shadow was suddenly very intrigued as to what he'd say.

"I can't tell you where I was born because I don't even know. My parents liked to travel from house to house. We were a happy family for a while. I remember that being the time that I laughed the loudest and smiled the most." He smiled at the memories.

"So what changed?" Shadow could only assume that something happened. You don't become a thieving gang leader by choice. Do you?

"My mother got pregnant again." His eyes lost their glow. "My father couldn't be happier. I was excited. But something went wrong with the birth. The baby lived, but my mother died."

Shadow felt her heart drop. For a split second she wanted to reach out and comfort the boy, but she stopped herself. She still felt sorrow for him though. Despite their differences, she knew exactly what it was like to lose a mother.

"My mother left me with a baby sister." His eyes suddenly became even brighter than usual and he stared off into space. "She was perfect. She looked just like our mother with curly blonde hair and blue eyes. I called her Princess and she called me her prince."

Shadow couldn't believe the tenderness in his voice, nor could she picture the thought of Cloud taking care of a baby. She would think he was too tough for that. But he held no sense of embarrassment as he talked about his sister.

He suddenly sighed and his face drooped. "She was perfect, but my father couldn't see that. After my mother died something in him…changed. He lost his job, he barely ate, and it was like he just gave up. I had to be the one to take care of my sister most of the time. Since she didn't get the proper care she needed she became sick."

The bowl in her hands was starting to shake and she needed to put it down. She could guess what was coming next and she really didn't want to hear it. "Cloud-"

"I was doing fine until my father broke out of his state of depression. Then everything became worse. Nothing was the same after that."

Shadow forced herself to close her mouth and listen as Cloud recited his past and all the heartbreaking painful events that came with it.

* * *

The spiky blonde haired boy crouched close to the ground. He narrowed his ice blue eyes as he peered around the building. The shopkeepers were packing up while even more people set up decorations and a few tables. He could hear them talking about music and dancing. They were laughing loudly and the younger female decorators skipped around as they worked with stars in their eyes.

The boy watched them closely. Their happiness and excitement was starting to catch on inside of him as well. He knew tonight was the annual festival. He didn't really understand what the point was to it. People came, they danced, they drank wine, and they went home.

His thoughts were distracted by voices over at the tables they were setting up. "Bring the food over here!" He eyed the plates full of delicious smelling food hungrily as they laid them gently on the tables. He could smell the freshly baked bread from over there. The scent made his mouth water.

When the carriers left the food to work on something else, the boy took his opportunity and edged out of hiding. He walked casually with his head held high. He didn't rush or run. He just walked. He was slowly coming closer and closer to the bowl of bread until the smell almost overpowered him.

He finally came upon it and, quick as a flash, swiped a half a loaf and tucked it under his arm as he walked away. He glanced behind him to make sure no one noticed him and was relieved when there were no accusations being shouted. He forced himself to keep walking until the main marketplace was out of sight. He then broke into a run.

He looked at the bread in his hand. He longed to take a bite out of it but made himself resist. He couldn't eat until someone else had eaten first…

He stopped running when he spotted the small, breaking down house. The walls were crumbling away and it seemed that if a good strong wind hit, the door would be swept away. The boy wished he knew how to fix these things. But he didn't and he knew no one else would fix the house for them.

He opened the door gingerly and was careful to shut it slowly behind him. "Hello?" he called out into the dark house. "I'm home. Father?"

He rounded a corner and found his father where he left him. His father sank in the old chair with a glazed look in his eye. He barely moved from that spot anymore. It was like he was in a whole different place. But the boy knew what he was capable of. He shivered at the memories. Sometimes something in him would snap and he would attack him. He had the scars to prove it.

The boy debated going over to talk to him, but decided against it for now. It was likely he wouldn't even hear him anyway. Instead he turned to another room and poked his head inside. "Princess?" he whispered in case she was sleeping. "You awake?"

A little head with beautiful curly blonde hair and radiant blue eyes immediately shot up with a wide smile. "Charlie!" she squeaked with delight. "Where-"she broke off with a loud cough.

Charlie's heart dropped and he rushed to her side on the creaky bed. "It's ok Princess. I'm here." He whispered soothingly to her. She didn't try to speak again and instead pressed her small body against him. "I brought you some food." He told her, trying to sound cheerful.

She eyed the bread as if it was a gift given by the gods. "Charlie bring food?" she whispered to him. Her eyes were dull but despite the tiredness in them they still twinkled when she looked at his face.

He nodded at her and broke the loaf in half. His sister was nearly a level 1 now and was only just learning how to speak properly. Charlie suspected the sickness that was eating at her and making her weary wasn't much help in the process.

He gave her the piece and she took it hungrily, but only took little nibbles of it. Charlie knew she was starving, but the sickness made it hard for her to keep any food she got down. He tried his best to hide his worry from her, to stay positive. But he knew he would soon have to face the truth.

His baby sister was losing the battle.

He lifted his own piece of bread to his mouth, but paused. He debated saving some for his father. Despite how he treated him, he was still his blood and he would die without food.

He refused to believe that his father hated him. He would hurt him sometimes for no reason and scare his sister, but he still made himself believe that deep down his father loved them. His grief for his mother, the love of his father's life, just seemed to be too much for him. It drove him straight to insanity.

Sometimes his father would become so delusional that he'd think he said something to Charlie without having said anything at all. Then he would become even angrier because he assumed his son had forgotten what he said or just ignored him.

One time the anger had gotten so bad that he had grabbed him and thrown him into their basement and locked him in. He had been terrified that he would never get out. After a while his sister came to look for him and he had managed to instruct her enough to open the door.

The pain of the memories burned in his mind until he self-consciously ate the whole piece of bread himself. He didn't feel any guilt and assumed he had done the right thing. It wasn't his father that was supporting them now, it was him and he needed to keep his strength up and survive if there was any hope of his sister surviving.

He looked down just in time to see her yawn and close her eyes. Her piece of bread was still in her hand. Charlie fought back worry and instead took the bread and placed it on the small table beside her bed. She could finish it when she woke up.

Charlie licked his lips, trying to savor every last crumb of the bread. It didn't begin to ease his appetite but it would have to do to keep him going. He stiffened as he felt his sister turn in her sleep with a quiet murmur. He could only just make out the word "Teddy".

He looked across the small room and saw the small bear lying on the floor. His mother had bought it for her long before she was even born and she had loved it to death. He was careful to move off of the bed without disturbing her and picked up the bear. He silently walked back over and pushed it into her small outstretched arms. She immediately wrapped tighter around it and smiled. Charlie felt his heart swell up at the sight.

He crouched down beside her and pushed back a golden curl that had sprawled across her face. Charlie knew that she wouldn't last much longer without medicine. Right now her time was limited. And he had no idea what to do to help.

Right now all he could do was find food for her. It would at least be enough to keep her going for the time being. But there was no doubt that she needed medicine. He pulled himself up and exited the room, making a sharp turn to go in the room that was right next to hers.

He sat on his own bed with his head bowed. "Gods, what do I do?" he thought out loud.

His thoughts flew to the festival that night. While everyone was busy it would be even easier to swipe more food. If he was lucky he could get enough to keep them going for at least a week. But could he trust his father alone with his sister that late? He clenched his jaw and lifted his chin. He had to take the chance.

He walked outside of his room until he was right in front of his father. His eyes were still glazed and he was staring into space. Charlie was thankful for this. If he was lucky, maybe he would stay like this for the whole day and he wouldn't have anything to worry about.

He bended down until he could look his father in the eye, "Father, I'm going to the festival tonight. I'll be back as soon as I can, ok?"

His father gave no sign that he had heard which didn't surprise Charlie. He quickly glanced back at his sister's room and added, "Don't touch her," In a more threatening tone.

With that said, he turned around and walked outside. It would be a while until the festival started but he wanted to watch them, to decide the best places to grab the food without being noticed.

"I'm doing this for you, Princess." He whispered as he walked. "I won't let you die."

* * *

Charlie scanned the scene in front of him in amazement. He had never been to a real party before and was shocked to see how fast the large space in front of him had filled up in only a matter of minutes. Music played and people danced around him with wine glasses in their hands.

He watched as in the corners of the main excitement younger couples whispered in each other's ears. Some of the girls smiled or blushed before dragging the boy's into the dancing crowd. For a moment Charlie wished he had a partner to dance with but quickly shook it off. Why would he want that? Besides, he wasn't here to dance. Dancing was for girls anyway.

He set his eyes on the table he had previously taken from. Most of the bread was gone but it was now filled with different kinds of meat, fruit, and sweets. He smacked his lips at it. The only problem was the dark haired man that was standing over it, but Charlie wasn't too worried. The man looked like one more glass of wine would be enough to knock him out.

Charlie started to walk towards the table, but stopped as something flashed in the corner of his eye. He looked over to see a beautiful woman with piercing green eyes and long black hair. He noticed beside her was a slightly smaller copy of her and he blinked to make sure his eyes were working properly. He noticed the woman was talking before the girl suddenly whipped around and said something to her. After a moment's hesitation the woman gave a small nod and the girl rushed toward the table that was beside the table filled with food, which was filled with drinks.

Charlie didn't know why this girl interested him. A girl in a long, reddish dress with her black hair pulled up into a bun? It wasn't like something he had never seen before. But there was something about her that made him walk toward her. Maybe it was her blazing green eyes. He had never seen ones that color before.

As he came closer, she had closed her eyes and was leaning against the table. Even at his approach she didn't move. He blinked and shuffled his feet slightly, not sure what to do. Was she sleeping?

Finally he managed to say, "Uh, hello?"

The girl's eyes flew open and she gripped the table. He felt guilt for startling her, but the way she acted was so funny that it was quickly replaced with amusement and he couldn't help but start laughing.

"Sorry," he said between chuckles, "I thought this was where you get drinks, not sleep."

The girl's embarrassment disappeared and she stood up straighter with a huff. "I wasn't sleeping!" she defended herself. "I was…daydreaming…"

Charlie held back another laugh and instead just looked at her. Was this party so dull that even a girl like this wanted to mentally escape from it? "Bored too, huh? Yeah, this party just has a bunch of old people dancing around probably drunk." The last trace of his mission evaporated as he suddenly got a brilliant idea. "Hey, want to go somewhere more fun?"

He had been straying farther and farther away from this general area lately and started exploring more. He always had a fascination with finding places that no one ever found before. Something in this girl's eyes told him she might be the same, but that was the only reason he was asking her if she wanted to go with him. It didn't have anything to do with how she smelled like flowers or how furiously she was blushing right now…

He noticed her trying to back away, but the table stopped her from going any further. "Um…what kind of fun?" she asked nervously.

He suddenly realized how weird this must all sound and a wide smile appeared on his face. "Don't worry; it's not THAT kind of fun." He reassured her. "Follow me!"

He turned and ran outside of the city. He wondered if she would agree to come with him. He secretly hoped so. For some reason he felt something inside of him tugging toward her. He wanted to know her better. That wasn't a crime was it?

Once he was far enough away he stopped and looked back. He decided he would give her a chance and wait for her. He waited patiently by the path he was beside until he saw a figure in the distance. He smiled as he recognized the girl.

"Thought you were going to chicken out." He told her once she reached his side.

The girl lifted her head high. "I don't chicken out. I'm going to be the best and bravest adventurer in Runescape someday." She announced proudly.

Charlie watched as her eyes sparkled and he knew that she truly believed what she said. He liked this girl. He liked this girl a lot.

Finally he laughed and decided to tease her. "Well good luck with that. Just try to keep up with me oh 'brave' adventurer." And he took off with a run.

He heard her stumble behind her and then a ripping sound before her pounding footsteps matched his own right behind him.

He stepped onto the gray soil and slowed his run to a trot. The crumbled gray houses seemingly magically appeared from out of the fog. He had to admit that as creepy as this place was, it was intriguing. So many mysteries were waiting to be uncovered here. And he planned to uncover them.

He looked a little way across from him and had to smile at the sight of the girl staring around in wonder. Her eyes gleamed like two green lights through the fog.

"Pretty neat, huh?" a small twitch of delight stirred inside him as she jumped at his voice. He watched as she put on a brave face and he had to admit something. She was cute.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! Why are we here anyway?" she continued to look around.

Charlie stepped forward until he was in front of her. He lifted his head, suddenly feeling like a real explorer. "We are here to explore and find adventure. You said you wanted to be an adventurer right?"

To his surprise, she suddenly looked unsure and she murmured. "Well…yeah. But isn't this place's air tainted with sickness?"

Charlie held back a laugh of scorn. He had heard the rumors many times. But he had come here time and time again and he was perfectly fine. His skin never become gray and crusty and as far as he knew he was not a zombie.

"I don't believe the AIR is filled with sickness. I believe the people that live or did live here are so mentally retarded they think this place is cursed and so they infect their own brains, making themselves and others around them think this place is dangerous." He told her his opinion.

The girl stared at him. "You've really given this a lot of thought haven't you?"

Charlie shrugged and felt his face beginning to grow hot at the admiration in her eyes. "I got lots of time to think I guess. So, you really to explore Witchaven or not?" he quickly changed the subject before his face became a tomato.

The girl's eyes lit up and her previous nervousness seemed to evaporate. "Where are we going?"

Charlie laughed and motioned her to follow him. He ducked around a corner until he came to a small patch of land that was nearly completely overrun by plants. He had done some digging around there and had uncovered a secret door that led underground. He wanted to be more prepared before he went down though. Anything could be down there.

He was pleased to see that the leaves he had put to cover up the door until he came back were still there. He glanced back to see the girl staring at him as if he were nuts. She opened her mouth to say something and he whipped up his hand to stop her. He brushed back the leaves to reveal the door.

He heard the girl gasp and stepped aside to let her get closer to the door. "How did you find this?" she whispered.

Charlie was relieved to see she looked more excited than afraid. "You can find a lot of this if you look hard enough." he said. "I haven't gone too far down it yet because I didn't have all the supplies, but with two people I think we can manage it. Assuming that you can take care of yourself and I won't have to protect you?"

He had meant it as a light tease, but she spun around to face him and said in an angry tone, "I can handle myself fine. I was just hoping that I wouldn't have to protect YOU."

His fear that he had upset her was pushed away when he realized she was only teasing back. "The dress and the beret in your hair are just a little misleading."

Charlie jumped back as suddenly the girl tore out her beret and threw it on the ground beside him. The bun uncoiled and her black hair blew freely in the wind. "Better mister fickle?"

Charlie could only stare at her for a moment. The moonlight wisped through the leaves above them and caught in her hair so it vibrated like black water. Not to mentioned how the rest of her just glowed. He swore his heart stopped for a split second.

He shook it off and wondered if she noticed him just spacing out. He decided to cover it up with a joke. "You could lose the dress too." She glared at him which only made him smile more. "Come on. Let's go in before anyone realizes we're missing."

He started to descend into the open doors when a loud yell stopped him dead in his tracks. It was the last sound he expected to hear and he felt his blood turn cold at it.

"CHARLES! What the HELL do you think you're DOING?"

That name. That dreaded name. It was his full name but he had grown to hate it. It was the name his father used when he was out of his depressed coma. When he jumped out of his hurt and pain and switched to rage and insanity. How had he found him? Why was he here? He should be home with his baby sister!

He suddenly remembered the girl. If his father saw her with him he might hurt her just out of spite. A surge of protectiveness took over him and he jumped forward and stepped between his father and the girl. He felt a breath of relief escape his throat as he saw she had the good sense to hide.

"F-father!" he hated the stammer in his voice, how it shook. It made him sound weak and afraid, even though he was afraid. He was terrified. All he desperately wanted to do was run far, far away. But he made himself stay there, hiding the girl from his father's blind hatred. "What-what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Looking for my good for nothing excuse of a son, THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING HERE." His father screamed at him and he fought the whimper that was lodged in his throat. "I thought I told you NEVER to come here and here I find you DISOBEYING ME?"

The boy stared at him in confusion. He had told him this warning a long time ago, back when his mother was alive. His father was acting like he had told him only this morning.

Still, he couldn't argue with him. Not when he was in this state. He hung his head and felt that he was shaking. "I-I-I'm sorry father. I just thought-"he tried to think of a fast excuse.

"You THOUGHT?" his father interrupted and he flinched. "Charles, get back to the house or so help me I will beat your ass and lock you in the basement."

Charlie looked up in fear and shock. The darkness in his father's eyes only made his trembling worse. There was no warmth there. Not anymore…

"No! Father not again, please! I will never do this again, I swear-"he tried to plead, but it was cut off as his father suddenly grabbed him by his hair and started to drag him away. He began to groan and choke in pain and fear of what was coming next.

He managed to look back one last time and saw the now familiar green eyes staring after him. They seemed to reflect the fear he was feeling and he resisted calling out to her. One of them would get out of there unhurt. He would make sure of that.

He felt a sob boiling inside of him but he did his best to keep it quiet. How could everything go so wrong? And why did it have to happen to him and his sister?

* * *

Charlie breathed fresh hair into his lungs as he crouched on the hard stone ground. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small brown bag. He opened it and let out a long breath as he saw the contents were safe.

Tiny gems glittered up at him. They weren't bigger than the tip of his pinkie finger, but they were worth a pretty amount of gold.

He felt something warm and sticky drip onto the back of his hand and looked down to see the drop of scarlet. He pressed his hand against his forehead and growled at the sting. The gem seller had put up a weak fight, but enough to clock him against the head and make him bleed.

Still, he could hardly think of the pain. He took out a gem and felt it between his two fingers. He felt happiness grow inside him. He had a specific item he wanted to get with the gold he would get from these.

It had been a year since the last major incident with his father and throughout that time he had continued to slip between quiet depression and wakeful rage.

Charlie had changed through that time. He had become stronger, faster, and smarter. He had to become those things. What started out as innocent borrowing until he somehow managed to find a way to find a moral way to live turned into outright stealing and thieving just to survive.

Charlie had to admit, he kind of liked it. He liked the power he felt when he got away with an item. He enjoyed the adrenaline he experienced when the person he was stealing from gave chase. It was exhilarating.

He had changed in looks as well. He had become much taller and his voice was much deeper. His blonde hair was spikier than ever and his blue eyes were as light as ice.

He put the gem back into the bag and stuffed the bag into his pocket. In his other pocket he took out a rag, spit on it, and dabbed it across his forehead. When he went to the general store he didn't want to LOOK like a criminal.

He pulled the black hood he wore back across his face and stepped out of the shadow of the building he had hid in. He glanced around from side to side while still keeping his head down. He had lived in this city for years and no one had accused him of anything. It was like he was invisible.

He walked until he was in front of a hollow wooden door. He glanced around before opening it. Inside was a man with brown hair and a brown beard to match. He looked troubled and was skipping around the store, moving items and mumbling under his breath.

"Hey, Fred," Charlie glanced outside once more and closed the door behind him. Once safely inside, he pulled down the hood and took out the brown bag. "Got a second?"

The man stopped rushing around and turned to Charlie with a wide smile. "Ah, Mister Charlie!" he said with a heavy accent. "It's good to see you. What can I do for you?"

Charlie dumped the contents of the bag onto the table. The shopkeeper's jaw dropped and his eyes sparkled with the gems in front of him.

"Mister Charlie…how did you-"

"It doesn't matter. I want to use these to buy some medicine."

Fred looked up at him with a frown. "Is it your sister, still?"

Charlie nodded. "She's getting worse and I can't wait any more. She needs medicine or she'll die."

Little Princess had been doing her best to be strong. She was learning how to speak properly and she was growing, slowly but surely. But she could barely leave her bed. Charlie had been doing his best to be positive. He had even gone as far as to make promises that she WILL get better. And he would do whatever it takes to keep that promise.

Fred breathed out a long sigh. "I am truly sorry Mister Charlie, but I don't sell the type of medicine you require."

Charlie slammed his hand on the table and leaned forward, desperation sparking in his eyes. "Then tell me where I can get it. I NEED that medicine."

Fred tapped his fingers nervously. "The good people in Seer's Village would gladly give you some." He told him. "But it's a day's journey."

Charlie hung his head. "I don't know if I could leave her by herself for that long."

"What about your father?"

"That old psycho would kill her before he let her live."

"You mustn't blame him much for that, Mister Charlie." Fred tried to soothe. "He is very ill."

"Except HE can do something about it," He started to collect the gems back into the bag. "He just chooses not to. Thanks for your help, Fred." He pushed the bag back into his pocket and opened the door.

"Best wishes to your sister." He called after him. "Gods bless her soul."

Charlie closed the door and breathed deeply. He put the hood back in place. He debated going back to tell Princess what he was doing, but decided it would be best to just leave right away. The sooner he left the quicker he'd be back.

He took off with a run. He knew the path to Seer's Village without actually being there himself. Once he was outside of the city, his adrenaline kicked in and he ran harder. He had been stuck in the city for so long that he barely knew what it was like to be anywhere else. So much for exploring…

He only stopped running to catch his breath once before charging ahead again. He didn't keep track of how long it had been, but it felt like a long time before he saw the outlines of the tiny village. He slowed down when he knew he had finally touched Seer's Village soil.

Men and women in white robes and white hair walked around him. He looked for one that might be friendly. When he spotted a woman with kind eyes, he pulled down his hood and approached her.

"Excuse me?" he began politely. "Could you point me to somewhere I could get medicine?"

The woman blinked. "I could."

Charlie looked at her awkwardly when she didn't move "Well…can you show me where it is?"

"I can."

"…now?"

"Yes."

Charlie shifted his feet. Did this woman want money?

"What's the magic word?" she suddenly said.

"Magic…? Oh! Please!"

The woman laughed and rubbed his arm. "You're a good kid. Of course I'll show you where our healer is." She walked forward and he followed close behind, being careful not to trip on her robe.

She stopped in front of a house and knocked on the door lightly. "Healer? There's a visitor for you."

"Come in."

The woman opened the door and swept her hand forward. Charlie nodded, whispered a thank you, and walked inside.

"What can I do for you, young man?" a tall white bearded man with long white robes that matched the others stood in front of Charlie. Behind him was a table filled with ingredients and vials. He would know what to do to help his sister!

"My name's Charlie. My sister is very sick and if I don't get medicine for her soon she'll die. I'll be able to pay you handsomely for it if you-"the words spilling out of his mouth were halted at the rise of the healer's hand.

"If medicine is what you seek then I have no need for your gold. I will gladly give you some to save your sister's life. How did she get ill?" he asked as he started to mix ingredients together.

"She was sick at birth." Charlie told him.

The healer shook his head. "Poor little one," he glanced up briefly. "Have you no parents?"

"No" Charlie said it automatically, without hesitation or thought. As far as he was concerned, he just lived with his sister and a crazy man. "They're both dead."

"Pity." The healer stirred a final time and handed the vial of liquid to Charlie. "Take this. I do hope your sister gets better."

Charlie took the vial and stuffed it in his shirt. "Thank you. You don't know much this means to me." He dipped his head out of spite and opened the door. Without a second thought, he ran like a life depended on it…and it did.

The sun had set by the time Charlie got back to Ardougne. He veered straight to his house and right away he noticed something was different. The house felt colder and he heard a strange noise coming from inside. His heart started thudding against his chest and he kicked the door open, heading right for his sister's room.

He skidded to a halt when outside of the room was his father leaning against the wall. He was speaking mostly incoherent words, but the ones that he understood he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"So quiet…not again…dead…"

Charlie slammed himself into the room. Then he suddenly stopped. He felt his knees give out and his face felt hot and sweaty. He practically crawled over to his baby sister's bed. Inside of it he could only just make out a small curly blonde head. Her eyes were shut. But Charlie noticed something that made his heart break.

She wasn't breathing.

His baby sister wasn't breathing.

"No…please…" he choked out the words even as he felt tears streaming down his cheeks. He propped himself up and ran his hand down his sister's face. She looked so peaceful, like she had died in her sleep.

"I'm so sorry." Charlie whispered, crawling onto the bed and gently holding the cold body against his. Tears were falling down onto her small form. "I'm so sorry I failed you." His lip quivered and he pressed his face against hers.

He had promised. He had PROMISED she would get better. And now she was dead.

"You won't suffer anymore, baby." He said under his breath as if she could still hear him. "You're free now." He swallowed back a choking sob.

He heard a noise at the doorway and looked up. Outside his father was staring in at him, his face expressionless.

"You come near her and I'll kick your ass." Charlie warned, wiping away the tear stains on his face.

"She was…was making noises in her sleep…" his father whispered. "I…I didn't know what to do. I didn't…think…"

"This is YOUR fault." Charlie moved his sister back onto the bed and charged forward to confront his father. "If you had let go of your grief instead of wallowing in self-pity then she would still be alive. We would have had enough gold to buy her medicine long ago. But now she's gone and you did NOTHING about it."

"I…you…"

Charlie huffed and pushed past his father.

"…where are you going?"

Charlie moved into his own room, grabbed his backpack, and started stuffing whatever he could find into it. "I'm leaving." He called out. "I'm taking Princess and I'm leaving."

His father was suddenly in front of him. "What? You can't!"

"Watch me." Charlie pulled the backpack on and went back to his sister's room. He carefully picked her up and carried her in his arms. He would at least properly bury her or find someone who could. He suddenly noticed something on the ground and looked down. His sister's teddy bear was at his feet. He leaned down and picked it up, stuffing it into his backpack.

He was out the door and trotting away when he heard one last bellow. "Please! Don't leave me alone! I'm your father."

"You're no father of mine." Charlie growled back loudly. "I'll never forgive you!"

Then there was only silence and he kept walking farther and farther away, not looking back once, only thinking about the little light in his arms that had gone out before her time. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**This chapter didn't have nearly as much things as I wanted to put in. But I'm sure you guys are getting restless. I know I am. Cloud's memories will continue and finish in the next chapter.**

**Review!**


	21. The Storm Cloud

Chapter 21 

* * *

The Storm Cloud 

* * *

"Out of the way!"

"Oof!" Breath escaped Charlie as a man suddenly blundered right into him. The force of the impact knocked him right on his back with the man sprawled next to him, groaning.

"Watch where you're going, would you?" Charlie growled as he rubbed his sore head.

He glanced over and his eyes widened in surprise. This man had spiky hair similar to his, except his was orange and red and stuck straight up on his head.

"I gave you a warning." The man said while trying to sit up. "I need to get out of here before they catch me."

"What-"Charlie stopped and suddenly noticed the large bag of gold lying in between them. He blinked at the man. "You're a thief?"

"Not really your business is it?" the man grabbed the bag and managed to stand up.

"I think he went over here!"

"Crap!" the man tried to run, but ended up falling headfirst into a bush. He quickly scrambled inside, though Charlie could obviously see his orange hair sticking out. Any guard with half a brain could tell he was there.

"Hey! You there!"

Charlie glanced up as two guards in chain armor and wooden helmets towered over him.

"What are you doing on the ground?" one of them inquired.

Charlie sniffed. "Is it a crime to sit on the ground here in…in…wherever the hell this is?"

"This is the entrance to Falador." The second guard said importantly.

Falador. Charlie swore he recognized the name. He probably heard it before when he was in Ardougne.

Charlie stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "Well, do you people normally interrogate visitors for no reason?"

"We're on the trail of a dirty thief that robbed the bank."

"Sounds like a problem."

The guard narrowed his eyes through his helmet. "You see him? Crazy orange hair, bumbling idiot, can't miss him."

"I think if I saw someone like that I would know." Charlie shrugged.

The guards glared at him. "Don't avoid the question. If we find out you've been hiding a wanted thief of Falador you're in for some serious trouble."

Charlie threw up his hands in defense. "Whoa! I just got here. What would I gain by protecting a thief?"

The guards exchanged a look.

"And while you guys are questioning me, the guy you're looking for is probably halfway across Runescape by now." He jerked his neck sideways. "Better get moving."

The guards gave him one last hard look before running past him down the trail he had come from. Charlie shut his eyes and let out a quiet breath. He felt like he had just done something really stupid.

"Dude! I owe you one." Charlie winced at the sudden pain in his arm as the guy popped out of his hiding place and swung at him. "I thought those idiots had me for sure."

Charlie turned to him with a smirk. "Don't mention it. Just one thief helping out another."

"You're a thief?" the man looked him up and down. "You don't look like it."

Charlie shifted the backpack on his shoulders. "Been doing some traveling. Only steal when I'm running out of food."

The man snorted in contempt. "Stealing because you need to? That's no fun." He took the money bag, flung it in the air, and caught it again. "Stick with me and I'll show you how much fun you can really have with it." He started walking back into the city.

Charlie frowned. "Wait. You're going BACK into the place you just stole from?" he started to follow him anyway.

"Yup. I'll let you in on a secret." He grabbed Charlie and pulled him until he could whisper into his ear. "I have a secret hideout in somewhere they'd never expect." He let go and literally hopped forward until he was next to a statue of Saradomin.

Charlie couldn't help but laugh. He liked this guy. He wasn't what he expected he'd find if he found another thief.

"Is your secret hideout inside the statue?" Charlie teased as he approached.

"Ssh!" the guy hissed. He glanced around before putting both his hands on the statue and pushing it forward. Charlie widened his eyes in surprise as it slid across the ground and revealed a hole with a staircase.

"Not inside it, under it." The man said proudly.

"Impressive." Charlie tried to walk inside it, but the guy whipped his arm up to block his way.

"I don't just let ANYBODY in here." The orange haired guy said. "To enter, you have to be a part of my gang."

Charlie blinked in confusion. "Your gang?"

"Yes, my gang."

"Who's your gang?"

The man suddenly looked uncomfortable and he shifted his feet. "Well…it's just me at the moment. But I'm forming a gang! We're going to be the scariest, sneakiest, most dangerous gang in all of Falador. Maybe even Runescape!"

Charlie chuckled. "Best thieving gang in Runescape?"

"It could happen."

Charlie nodded. "I'm in." he pulled down the guy's arm and started descending down the staircase.

"W-wait!" he could hear the guy following close behind. "You're in? Just like that?"

"Yeah," Charlie found himself in a large underground tunnel. "How did you find this place?"

"Well, being a thief I tend to sneak around a lot. One day I heard the guards mention an old myth about an emergency underground tunnel under Falador. So I did some digging and I found, well, this." The man barged past him and swept his hands around a whole other room. "Just don't ask me how long it took." He added.

Charlie looked around and realized there were only the makeshift bed and a small place to make a fire. It seemed too big to house only one guy.

"Doesn't it ever get lonely living in this hole?" Charlie asked without really thinking.

The man shrugged. "Not anymore. Because you're here now!" he punched him in the shoulder and shouted. "Welcome to the Falador gang!"

Charlie rubbed his shoulder and laughed. "I guess I could get to like it here."

"This is great!" orange hair started to jump around excitedly. "There's so much stuff we can do now. We can come up with clever plans and steal even bigger stuff than dumb old bags of money and we can get all the chicks and-"

"Whoa!" Charlie threw his backpack into the dirt wall. "How about we start with getting me a bed first?"

The man stopped moving and smiled. "No problem. I'm Flame, by the way."

Charlie eyed his hair. "I can see why your mother would think that would be an appropriate name." he joked.

"Oh, that's not my real name. When thief's want to leave their past behind they drop their real names and come up with much cooler stuff."

Charlie smirked and laughed softly. "I guess I can understand that. Wipe the slate clean, right?"

"Exactly! So, what's your name my fellow spiky haired friend?" he poked one of his spikes as he asked.

Charlie could only stare at him for a moment. His father called him Charles, but his mother and sister called him Charlie so he changed it. Maybe now it was time to change it again.

"Cloud." He finally said. "My name is Cloud."

* * *

Cloud kept pace with Flame as they practically flew through the city of Falador. He had never felt so alive in his life, so free. Like he could do anything he wanted to.

"Step it up. They're gaining on us!" Flame called back as he rounded a building.

"Like hell they are." Cloud called back as he rounded the same building and balanced on a bridge as he ran with ease.

"Such a show-off," Flame laughed.

"Not my fault the guards here are so slow-whoa!" Cloud came to a screeching halt when they almost barreled into five guards lined along the back way of Falador, the way they were going to go.

Cloud turned around and saw five more running at a fast speed toward them.

"Dude! Quit gawking and follow me." Flame had squeezed between two buildings and was running away from the guards. Cloud dodged an arrow and followed close behind.

"I assume you have a backup plan?" Cloud asked as they ran side by side.

"Don't I always?" Flame asked him. "There should be a hole in one of the walls."

Cloud half-doubted him, knowing that Flame had been wrong before, but he knew this area better than him. At least for now. Cloud had been in the 'gang' for only a few weeks, but during that time Flame had taught him just how fun stealing items that weren't necessary for survival was. He was so used to stealing things he needed. It was a nice change and it was a hell of a lot more fun.

"I don't see a-"Cloud began to say.

"There!" Flame curved around until they were in front of a missing chunk in the Falador wall.

"Why would they just leave this open?" Cloud wondered.

Flame shrugged and jumped over the low part of the wall that was still somewhat intact. "No idea. Hurry up before they catch up to us."

Cloud leaped over the wall with ease and bolted forward in a random direction.

"No! This way, into the woods." Flame ran the complete opposite way into charred, dead black trees and crumbly dirt with no grass.

"I wouldn't call that woods, but ok." Cloud kept pace with him, weaving around the remains of the trees. Cloud wondered why Flame was taking him through here. There wasn't much cover after all. "Why are we going this way?"

"Just around this corner there will be a place to lay low until-oh crap!" Flame broke off as he rounded the corner of a large dirt mound and Cloud could only just see his feet leave the ground.

He rolled his eyes and turned the corner, fully expecting to see Flame sprawled across the ground like the clumsy ogre he was.

He was half right. Flame was lying on the ground, but someone else was with him. A man in a black cloak with long black hair and a black beard sat beside him, looking utterly confused and surprised. He was sitting cross-legged in front of a small fire and had a large backpack propped up beside him.

"What in the name of the gods is going on here?" the man asked loudly.

Cloud put on a nervous smile. "Sorry, my friend is kind of an idiot." He said as he helped Flame up. "He falls down a lot."

The man raised a bushy eyebrow. "I can see that."

Cloud was trying not to look urgent, but he was failing the battle as he heard the crunches of twigs and the voices of angry guards coming closer.

The man seemed to hear it too because he glanced toward the noises and turned back to the two boys in front of him with suspicion in his eyes. "Are you two running from someone?"

"Us? Running? Why, that's silly talk!" Flame laughed in a high pitched, clearly fake way.

Cloud rubbed a hand across his face in exasperation.

"If you need help, perhaps I can be of service."

Cloud's eyes widened and he nodded his head vigorously, not able to find words at that moment.

The man glanced over at the blankets and sleeping bag. "Think both of you can fit in there?"

Without stopping to ponder, Flame and Cloud dived into it and managed to both get under it. Cloud tried to ignore the awkward position they were in and instead focused on the noise outside as footsteps emerged from the charred woods they had come from.

"Hey, old timer! See two guys come through here? One with orange hair and one with yellow?" a voice said.

"I'm not old, I'm still aging!" Cloud heard the man snap. "And how dare you barge into here while I'm trying to get some peace? Can't a retired adventurer get one second of quiet around this damn place? You people think you can stomp around wherever you please doing whatever you wish. I ought to have a talk with your boss and-"

"Settle down!" the guard stopped him, suddenly sounding less confident. "We just want to know if you've seen anyone pass through here."

"The only people I've seen are you and frankly, I'm not too thrilled about that."

"I don't think he knows anything." Cloud only just caught the whisper. "Let's get out of here."

"Fine. Good day to you-wait!"

Cloud stiffened as the footsteps drew closer. He felt Flame hold his breath beside him.

"Careful! You'll wake the rats." The man said.

"Rats?"

"Giant rats to be precise. A few wandered over to keep me company and I don't suppose they'll be too happy if you lift up those blankets."

"Yuck. I hate rats. Let's get out of here." As the men walked away, Cloud could only just catch one of the guard's mumble, "Crazy old man…"

Cloud waited a few moments before the man said, "Alright, you two can come out now."

Cloud and Flame lifted off the blankets with a breath of relief.

"Thanks, dude. We owe you." Cloud said to the man.

The man smiled. "You do owe me don't you? Don't suppose you two have a place that I could stay?"

"Actually-"

"We don't just show ANYONE where we stay." Flame butted in on Cloud. "It's top secret and only those in our gang know about it."

Cloud shut his eyes, silently willing him to shut his mouth.

"A gang? What kind of gang?"

"Well, again, thanks for your help but we have to get going." Cloud slapped his hand over Flame's mouth before he could answer and started pushing him back the way they had come.

"Is it a thieving gang? Because I might be able to offer you some assistance if it is."

Cloud stopped and turned around. "What kind of assistance?" he asked carefully.

"The healing kind." The man stood up and Cloud realized just how much taller he was than them. "My name is Irit. I-"

"Like the herb?" Flame interrupted.

"Yes, like the herb." Irit replied almost grudgingly. "I was once an adventurer, but I retired not too long ago. Now I focus on skills that I learned long ago with my healing abilities." He glanced toward his backpack. "I've been trying to find somewhere to use them, but no one will have me."

"We'll have you!" Flame said at once.

"Dude! We don't even know this guy." Cloud argued. Flame always made quick and irrational decisions.

"What's to know? He helped us out and now he's offering to move in so he can heal us when we get hurt." Flame pointed out.

Cloud scratched his head as he thought about this. "You do get hurt a lot…" he mumbled.

"Well, gentleman," Irit piped up after a moment passed, "do I have a place in your gang?"

Cloud sighed. "Alright," he said, ignoring Flame's yell of triumph, "gather your things and we'll take you to our hideout."

Irit smiled and bent down to pack up his items and put out the fire. "Thank you. You won't regret this. How many more of your gang are there?"

"Actually, it's just us right now." Flame chuckled half-heartedly.

Irit didn't react. He only said, "Fair enough." And finished packing before turning to the two boys again. "Right. Shall we go?"

Cloud nodded, still not sure how much he trusted this man. But Flame seemed to trust him enough and Irit wasn't in much position to betray them. He just had to trust his friend. "This way." He said and led the way back to Falador.

* * *

Cloud sighed to himself as he pushed the statue back in place to conceal the stairway. Not much had happened in the last week and he was bored out of his mind. Flame, Irit, and he had managed to uncover another part in the tunnel that would be a perfect room for Irit to set up his healing supplies.

They had spent most of their time fixing up that room and swiping extra supplies the old healer needed. Though it was good what they were doing, it was also tedious work. Flame seemed to have noticed his constant sighing and grumbling and had informed him of a bar that was practically right next door called the Rising Sun Inn.

Cloud had gladly taken the opportunity and was now on his way there. He pulled a black hood over his spiky blonde hair, as much as he resented doing so. He still had a little while to wait until the hunt for him cooled down and he could walk around freely or at least until the guards put up wanted posters of him.

He flipped a gold coin in his hand. It had been a while since he had actually intended on paying for something. It was only a beer though, it wouldn't be too expensive.

He came to a building and looked up at the hanging wooden sign above him. It read 'Rising Sun Inn' and had a picture of half a sun on it.

"This is the place," Cloud said to himself and opened the doors.

"Welcome, honey!" a girl in an apron with blonde hair pulled up into a bun greeted him while she wiped the bar table with a towel. "My name's Emily. I'll get to you in just a second." She said and turned her attention to the shelves behind her.

Cloud sat down on one of the stools and looked around. No one else was in the bar except another worker that looked similar to Emily except she had brunette hair. Cloud assumed they were sisters.

"Alright, what can I get you?" Cloud turned back and Emily was leaning on the counter close to him, waiting for his order.

"I just want a beer." He told her.

She giggled, to his surprise. "We don't serve regular beer. We have Asgarnian ale which is as close as you'll get."

"I'll take that then." He said, placing the gold on the table which she took happily, winked at him, and turned around again.

While Cloud waited, he heard the door open but didn't crane his neck to look.

"Hi, Rose. You're here early today." The brunette girl Cloud saw before greeted the newcomer cheerfully.

"Kaylee," Cloud heard the new person grunt back a reply. He only turned to look at the person when she sat down across from him.

Cloud blinked. This girl was fairly thin and had messy black hair tied up into a ponytail so that her hair bushed out wildly. He could only see the side of her head but he saw she had green eyes that glowed like a reptiles. She wore a skinny black dress that emphasized all of her curves.

The girl suddenly turned and glared at him. "What are you looking at?" she growled.

Cloud shrugged. "Just a pretty girl." He said almost automatically. He had never really flirted with anyone before, but he figured he'd give it a shot.

The girl's scowl gave way to a smirk and Cloud figured he must have said something right. The girl, apparently named 'Rose', glanced back at the counter when Emily came back with two mugs in her hands. "Here's your ale." She said to him and to Rose she said, "Hi, Rose. The usual Wizard Mind Bomb right?" and placed the mug in front of her.

"Yeah. Thanks." Rose mumbled tiredly and reached into an apparently hidden pocket in her dress.

"That's on me." Cloud piped up quickly.

Rose looked at him weirdly. "I'm not a charity case. I can pay myself." She said defiantly.

"I'm sure you can. I'm just trying to do a nice thing." He put all the gold he had left on the table and Emily snatched it up with a smile at him.

Rose arched an eyebrow and took a sip of the drink. "So you're just a nice guy doing random acts of kindness, huh?" she asked sarcastically after she finished her sip.

Cloud swished the gold substance around in his mug without looking at her. "I'm just a guy looking for some fun." He told her honestly.

To his surprise, she grabbed the mug and scooted toward him until she was right next to him. "Really?" she learned forward with a gleam in her eyes. "What kind of fun?"

He blinked, but he didn't back away from her. He actually kind of liked it. She had an interesting smell to her. It reminded him of walking in the woods around evergreen trees.

"Cat got your tongue?" she smiled and took a hold of his hand. Her hand felt warm, but not soft. "Maybe I could show you some fun? Hm?"

"I-"his voice broke as she used her other hand to trace along his smooth, hairless face. He felt his heart speed up as she leaned her face even closer to his than before. It was a weird feeling he was having, one he hadn't had before.

He tried once again to speak. "Rose…I don't think-"

"Shh." She placed a finger over his lips before moving her hands onto his shirt. "What's your name, again?"

"C-Cloud." He just managed to sputter out as she pulled him up by the collar of his shirt and dragged him up the staircase.

"Cloud," she repeated his name in a whisper. "That's sexy."

Before he knew what was going on, she had pressed her lips against his. After that he was completely under her spell, utterly helpless before her as she pushed him into a room and slammed the door behind them.

* * *

"So…you WANT me to have a wanted poster of myself?" Cloud asked in disbelief.

Flame scoffed like it was the dumbest question he ever asked. "Of course! We're not an official thieving gang until we all have wanted posters. I got mine weeks ago; Rose got hers the first couple days she was here, now it's your turn."

Cloud frowned at him and kicked a rock across the dirt. "It just doesn't make sense."

"You're not scared of a couple Falador guards are you?"

"Of course not; I just think it's impractical to purposely get on the guard's bad side."

Flame laughed. "You're acting like you're going to go up to them and tell them you're a thief. I was thinking more on the lines of robbing the north bank."

"What's the difference between robbing the south bank and robbing the north?"

"The north has considerably more cash, which means it's well-guarded. I never mentioned it because we only had two people, plus Irit. Now that we have Rose I think we got this."

Cloud smiled. "See? Is it that hard to think ahead? Nice job, buddy."

After Cloud's interesting introduction with Rose in the bar, he had offered her a place in the gang. He wasn't sure WHY. He assumed because he wasn't thinking clearly after all the excitement and new experiences. But he hadn't regretted it yet. Turned out Rose was extremely gifted in the art of thievery. She was nimble, quick, and fearless.

Not to mention a hell of a kisser…

"So when do we strike?" Cloud inquired. He was excited now. They were finally becoming a gang and as this would be their first bigger than normal job. Everything had to be perfect. The timing, the placement, the costumes, the-

"I was thinking whenever we feel like it." Flame announced happily.

Cloud stared at him for a long while before rubbing his eyes and sniffing. "I'm sorry…did you just say whenever we feel like it?"

Flame pulled back his orange spiky hair, only to have it stick straight up again. "Yeah. The guards are so dumb that even if we completely mess up we'll still get away."

"But do you really want to take that chance?" Cloud questioned in exasperation. "If we're doing this to make a name for ourselves then do we want to look like bumbling idiots?"

Flame stared at his worn out shoes. "I guess you're right. I just never really came up with a well thought out plan before. It used to be just me and my gut and I haven't been caught yet."

"The first time I met you; you fell and were nearly captured…"

"That was just a fluke-"

"And then you fell again and we had to ask Irit for help."

"Look, do we really need to point fingers here?" Flame snapped, looking embarrassed. "It's not like the north bank is any different in design to the south one. We can just grab the money and get out."

"But you said there are more guards there. What do we do about them?"

Flame glanced back toward the statue that their hideout was under, his gaze wandering off into space as he thought. "We could have Rose sprinkle a little whore magic on them." He though out loud.

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "Whore magic?" he asked skeptically.

"You know! Flirt with them. Distract them."

"That's…actually a good idea. But do you think she'll go for it?"

"Go for what?" Cloud was so caught up in the plan that he hadn't even heard the footsteps of their scantily dressed fellow gang member as she approached them behind.

Cloud smirked and swiveled around. "Just in time! We have a job for you, my dear. How do you feel about rubbing up against chainmail?"

~~~

It took more convincing than Cloud would have liked, but after over exaggerating the amount of the gold they would acquire enough times, she finally agreed to the plan and everything was set into place. Rose would distract the guards outside, Flame would keep the bankers in one room, and he would get the key to the upstairs vault and take as much gold as he could carry.

Cloud crouched down next to Flame as they waited for Rose to work her magic. Three guards stood right outside the door to the bank, though none of them seemed to be paying to too attention as they were gossiping and loudly telling vulgar jokes.

"Come on Rose, where are you?" Cloud muttered under his breath.

"Dude, relax." Flame tried to calm him. "She knows what she's doing. And these guards aren't exactly on high alert. I bet we could sneak past them even without her if we needed to."

Cloud opened his mouth to reply, but just then a dark figure stepped out of the shadows of the bank and headed straight for the guards. As the figure got closer, Cloud could clearly recognize Rose in her skin tight black pants, her high heels, and her lacey bodice she was apparently trying to pass for a shirt. Her black hair was down and was surprisingly straight, quite unusual from her normal messy ponytail look.

She walked up to one guard without him even noticing, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, tore off his helmet, and caught him in a lip lock without even batting an eye. The other guards looked on in shock at first, but after it wore off it was replaced by whooping and howling like wild animals.

After she came back up for air, she began to pull the guard she had ambushed farther away from the bank, motioning for the other two to follow. Said guards exchanged a quick glance and followed her close behind like lost puppies.

Flame raised an eyebrow. "She's good."

Cloud fought back a twinge of jealously. This was just business after all. "Yeah, she is. Let's go before they get bored." He ran forward with Flame right by his side. He kicked open the bank door and raised the crossbow he had swiped from a half asleep guard. "Everyone get down, now!" he yelled the order.

The bankers let out scared gasps and crouched down behind the stalls.

Flame stalked toward them with his own crossbow in hand. "Just give us what we want and you'll get out of this without a bolt in your head." Cloud was slightly surprised at the menace in his friend's words.

Cloud walked up to a random banker and pointed the crossbow right at her skull. "Give me the key to the lock upstairs."

The girl was shaking and whimpering so much that Cloud doubted she even heard him.

"She doesn't have it." Cloud looked over at the stall next to hers and quickly switched targets. "Here, just take it." He held out an iron key with a shaky hand.

Cloud tore it out of his hand and nodded to Flame, who nodded back and returned to patrolling around the terrified bankers. He ran up the stairs in a couple bounds and found the cage that held the bags of gold quite easily. He inserted the key and twisted it. The door opened without any alarm going off. Obviously the bank was confident enough to not put one in.

He took out a large sack he had stuffed in his pocket and started shoveling the bags of gold into it. When it started to get heavy he finally stopped and threw the sack over his shoulder. It would be enough money to feed them for a year.

He ran down the stairs happily and called out, "Alright! Let's-"

He stopped just as he hit the bottom of the stairs. Across the room, a man with a mask over his mouth stood over Flame with his own crossbow aimed at him.

Cloud got his own crossbow out and pointed it at the stranger's back. "Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?"

The man whipped around, though not a trace of surprise shown in his dark brown eyes.

"Get out of here before I shoot a bolt into your chest." Cloud tried to intimidate the other thief.

The man scoffed and he rolled forward and punched the crossbow out of Cloud's hands in a single move. Cloud tried to get out of the way, but the man was too quick and kicked his feet so that he fell, the sack of money bags falling out and scattering everywhere.

Without really planning any course of action, Cloud arched back and jumped back on his feet, kicking his opponent in the process. It was enough to push him backward, but he still stayed upright. Cloud decided to do the reckless thing and tackle him head on, causing him to drop the stolen crossbow.

"Cloud, the guards are coming! We have to get out of here." Cloud didn't even register the warning at first between the sounds of crashing as he fought with the stranger and the rush of adrenaline at the satisfying feeling that he was winning.

"Cloud! NOW!" He was suddenly yanked off the black haired man and thrown toward the exit of the bank. "Let's go already!" Flame pushed him out and helped guide the confused blonde away from the bank.

Once he got his bearings back, he remembered something. "Wait! What about the money? That jerk's going to get it." He turned to go back, but there was no need as the man in question was following them while the guards fired their crossbows at them.

"Damn it." Cloud could only follow Flame as he led them between buildings, winding around until they lost the guards and could rest in the shelter of the back of a house. The strange man had followed them the whole way. He was catching his breath along with them.

Once he got his breath back, Cloud thought of all that money he had…and lost. And the reason for this was right in front of them. He felt his blood start to boil in a way it hadn't in a long time, especially not over a job like this.

He lunged forward and pinned the mystery thief against the wall, making sure that he couldn't move an inch. "You idiot!" he snapped right in front of his face. "We lost over a million gold and it's your fault."

"Sorry, I didn't get a schedule. Was it your turn to rob the bank this week?" the black haired man asked in a chillingly calm voice.

Cloud felt a vein throb on his forehead. "You-"

"Cloud, it was a misunderstanding. Let's just forget about it." Flame grabbed his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and turned to him without loosening his grip on the other man.

"Forget about it, Flame?" he spat in disbelief. "It'll be weeks before we can try again now thanks to this clown."

"Cloud? Flame?" the man chuckled quietly. "I think the real clowns here are you two."

Cloud turned back to look at him. "You talk a lot for being pinned against a wall."

"Who are you, anyway?" Flame asked suspiciously. "I've been in this city for what seems like forever and I've never seen you before."

The man suddenly twisted and easily got out of Cloud's grip, but he didn't run. Instead he did a slight bow as if he performed a complicated trick and removed the cloth he had used as a mask, revealing his crooked smile. "Name's Blake. I was just in the neighborhood and thought I could stop by for a quick steal. But as my luck would have it, looks like you two beat me to it."

"Actually, it's three." At that moment, Rose stepped around the corner of the building and strolled over to stand beside Cloud with her arms crossed and her chin held high.

Blake snorted. "Of course, why not add a whore to a band of misfits?"

Rose stepped forward with her fists clenched, but Cloud walked in front of her before she could try anything stupid. As much as he hated to admit it, this guy would be more than capable of taking care of himself; even against all three of them.

"You should get out of here before we personally remove you ourselves." Cloud warned in what he hoped was a threatening voice.

Blake shrugged and began to back away. "No need for more violence. I was on my way out anyway. I hear Varrock has more valuables in it than this dump of a city."

"Be sure you stay there once you get there." Rose said.

Blake stopped moving and raised an eyebrow. "And what can you do if I don't?"

Cloud walked until he was level with Blake, his frowning face only a couple inches from his own. "We'll make sure you never do it again. This is our territory. You'd be wise to find your own and stick to it."

Blake huffed, "And who are you to decide whose territory is whose?"

Cloud chose his next words carefully. He said them boldly and proudly and it felt…right. As if he was meant to say these words.

"This is the Falador gang and we don't tolerate strangers. If we ever see your face here again, we'll kill you on sight. Remember that. And you can pass that message on to any other thief you come across."

Blake didn't say anything. He only stared at him with angry brown eyes, but Cloud didn't back down once. Finally, after what seemed like centuries, Blake gave a slight nod, turned, and walked away without looking back.

Cloud nodded more visibly and smiled. That had felt so right. Suddenly remembering Rose and Flame, he turned around to meet Rose's half impressed expression and Flame's gaping jaw.

"Dude! That was awesome!" Flame slapped a palm over his shoulder and shook him. "I thought that guy was going to piss his pants." He crowed.

"Yes, I guess that was pretty impressive." Rose smirked at him. Her straightened black hair was already turning to its frizzy state and looked like it had been ruffled around, most likely by the guards.

"Cloud." The red head's astonished smile turned serious, to Cloud's surprise. "I've been thinking about this a while now. I think you should be the leader of this gang."

Cloud took a step back. "Me? Leader? But…you were the one that started this gang." He spluttered.

He shrugged. "Yeah, but I know nothing about being a leader. I can't think far ahead or come up with elaborate plans. And I sure as hell wouldn't be brave enough to face that guy like you just did. It has to be you."

"What about me?"

Flame and Cloud snapped their heads to look at the barely dressed black haired girl, trying to hold back their laughter in the process. She could only glare at them with her green dragon scale eyes.

"I guess it's settled then." Flame clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "I don't know about you two but I'm starving."

Cloud laughed. "You're always starving. You two go ahead. I'll be right behind you." After the two left, he leaned against the wall and allowed it to sink in what just happened.

He was the LEADER of a gang. How had he gone from taking care of his dying sister to controlling a band of 'misfits' that steal for fun? Was this really his purpose?

Guess he'd just have to find out.

* * *

Cloud stared across the city of Falador. He relished the feeling of being able to look down at the people of this city and pretending they were ants. He had only recently discovered the ladder inside the general store that led a very far way up. It was now his favorite place to be when he needed to clear his head or just relax. He liked the wind blowing through his spiky blonde hair and the warmth of the sun as it set or rose.

It had been a week since he'd been named leader and he loved every minute of it. Though it was a big responsibility, he was used to having that by now. Irit's lab was coming along quite nicely. Cloud often heard him up late at night mixing potions and mumbling to himself. He had to admit, he was happy for the old man. It must be a good feeling to have a purpose after being rejected for so long.

Cloud twitched. His train of thought was interrupted by a quiet noise on the wind. He listened harder for it, but didn't hear it again. He deemed it part of his imagination.

Rose was trickier to interpret how she was coming along. Some days, out of nowhere, she would pin him against a wall and start kissing him and then they would have a quick fling. But that was as far as their 'relationship' would get. They didn't even talk about it afterward. Cloud was still pondering if he liked it this way or not.

Flame had discovered a barred up hatch that was right in their tunnel. He was sure that it led to the kitchen in the Falador Castle. Cloud hoped he was right. If it was true, they would be set for food for life. Not to mention easy access to the inside of the castle AND a second escape route.

Cloud jumped to his feet. There was the noise again, this time clear as day. It was a tiny sound; he could only just hear it. It sounded like a sobbing girl.

Should he get involved?

Common sense told him to ignore it and get back to his gang, but curiosity made him climb down the ladder, making sure to pull his hood over his face, and go out the back entrance to Falador. He let his ears guide him and found himself in the charred woods where Flame and he first found Irit.

Once trudging through the foul smelling dead woods, he could clearly hear the sobbing. It sounded scared and full of pain. He walked until he passed one more burnt tree and found himself in a small clearing with a crying girl on a large rock.

Half of her face was covered by her hands as she cried and wavy, blonde hair secluded the rest of her head from his view. She wore a white, frilly blouse and a long white skirt. Her sobs were high pitched and Cloud wondered if something was wrong with her voice.

He took as step forward and she suddenly looked up with a gasp. Cloud could now clearly see her hazel eyes under her red stained face. She moved back, scrambling over the rock as she tried to get away.

He remembered the hood and silently cursed himself. He must look like a murderer to this girl right now. He swiftly pulled it down and put up his hands. "It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you." He attempted to soothe her.

She stopped her frantic scrambling and she stared at him, still sniffling. Cloud felt a wave of pity for her, though he wasn't quite sure why.

Unconsciously, he got down on his knees and moved slowly toward her as if she were a frightened deer. When he was close enough, he slowly took her hand and said, "See? I'm a friend."

She didn't react, only sniffled more. Fresh tears began to appear in her pretty eyes.

He got up beside her and gently wiped off the tears on her cheeks. "Hey, it's ok." He whispered to her. "A beautiful girl like you shouldn't cry."

To his delight, a stray smile appeared on her pink lips. She blinked the last tears away, which he helped wipe off with his palm, and her sniffling subsided.

He smiled widely. "There we go. Now I can really see that pretty face." He brushed away stray bits of hair. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. Somehow, just in her innocent eyes and her blonde hair, she reminded him of his precious baby sister. "What's your name, darling?" he asked quietly.

She blinked up at him and her mouth opened to squeak out, "M-Melody."

Cloud chuckled at the tiny squeak. "A pretty name for a pretty girl," Melody's smile got bigger and he felt his heart swell up even more. "Why are you out crying?"

Her smile left and she looked down at the rock they sat on. "I…I do not have anywhere to go. I was exiled from my old home and no one will help me. Then I got lost in this scary place and I did not know what to do." Her lip started to quiver again.

Cloud looked at her carefully. Her voice was fairly high and she spoke as if English was a second language for her. She didn't combine her words at all. "Where are you from?" he prompted.

"I am from Zanaris," Her voice was gradually becoming stronger and more confident, "home of the fairies."

Cloud did his best to hide his amusement. He didn't think he had ever heard of a place like that. Then again, he didn't know a lot about the places in Runescape and he desperately didn't want to think this girl was crazy.

"So…you're a fairy?" he asked as seriously as he could.

"I am a half-fairy." She corrected.

"Right…half…fairy." He started to wonder if this was a good idea after all. "So, you can fly or something?"

A small, high pitched giggle escaped from her throat and made him jump slightly. "No. I have the body of a human, but the soul of a fairy."

Cloud could almost believe it. The way she acted, the complete innocence in her eyes, it all seemed very fairy-like. But was there really such a thing?

"It is because of my appearance."

Melody jerked him back into the present. "What?"

"Why I was exiled. Also because I am half-blood, they do not see me as pure. I know they would not say it out loud, but I believe they think of me as…"

"A freak?" Cloud offered.

"What?" she asked confusingly. "I was going to say odd."

A candle was slowly lighting itself inside Cloud's head. "So you're a misfit?"

"A what?" Cloud assumed this girl didn't know a lot of insults or hurtful words. Perhaps she was telling the truth after all.

"So you're different?" Cloud corrected his wording.

Melody nodded. "Yes, I suppose I am."

Cloud glanced down at her white as snow clothes and her could-do-no-harm aura around her. Was this really the right thing he was doing? How could he be sure she wouldn't get eaten alive?

He couldn't.

"I am the leader of a gang in a city very close to here. There are three other people in it that I promise will not lay a hand on you. We can provide you protection and maybe give you a permanent place to stay. If you want." He added quickly.

"A gang?" Melody still looked confused.

"A…thieving gang." He told her reluctantly. He didn't know why he wanted her to join so much. It wasn't like he felt any romantic connection to her. She seemed too innocent and young for that, even though she was probably about his level.

"You steal things?" she started to back away again.

"Yes but we try not to hurt other people." He explained rapidly.

"How do I know you do not just wish to rob me?"

He laughed. "Rob you for what? The clothes on your back?" she snagged onto her loose blouse and he instantly regretted his word choice. "I'm joking."

"Why would a thief want to help me?" Cloud could understand her skepticism. Why WOULD a thief want to help anyone except for his own hidden motive?

"I'm not exactly a normal thief." He half-laughed dryly. "I started out only needing to take things to survive…and to help someone else survive."

Melody still looked confused, but she didn't press him for details. Instead, she placed a warm hand on top of his and offered a smile. "I believe that you have much good in your heart. The fairy in me can sense these things."

Without really registering it completely, his eyes started to get glassy. "You think so?"

"Yes. I would love to come with you to your gang." She stood up and offered him her hand, which he gladly took.

"Great!" he started to become chipper again. "You'll learn to love it. Oh, I'm Cloud by the way."

Melody giggled again, a sound Cloud believed he could get used to. "It is very nice to meet you, Cloud. Thank you for your generosity and for your friendship when I had none." She gave a quick bow.

"Don't thank me yet. Wait until you meet the rest of the gang!"

"Everyone, unroll another bedroll because we have a guest tonight!"

Rose, Flame, and Irit all looked up in surprise at the announcement from their leader. Cloud stepped aside and revealed Melody, who looked very much less like a thief and more like a fish out of water. Most of the red on her face had faded and she looked much more presentable, though when it came to being a thief, being clean-cut wasn't exactly a requirement.

Rose nodded and went back to her book that she was reading, not even bothering to get up. Irit and Flame, however, instantly got up from where they were sitting.

Irit reached the pretty blonde before Flame, and the red head frowned in disappointment and crossed his arms like a spoiled child. The healer took her small hand and kissed it. "A pleasure to meet you, my dear. What's your name?"

"Her name's Melody." Cloud answered for her. "She's a new addition to our team. Mel, this is Irit and-"

"I'm Flame!" the man in question pushed the older healer roughly aside to pop in front of her, earning a fairy-like giggle from Melody. Irit rolled his eyes and went back to his lab.

Flame's eyes lit up and he smiled the biggest smile Cloud had ever seen from him. "You have a cute laugh."

She blinked shyly at him and said in a soft voice, "Thank you." After a moment's hesitation she added, "I like your hair."

His face turned as red as his hair. "Thanks. I spend a lot of time, well, NOT combing it." This enticed another squeak of laughter. He looked over the girl's shoulder at Cloud. "I like this one. She laughs at my jokes."

"Laughing at things you say that aren't even remotely funny don't make her any kind of qualified thief I know." Rose mumbled from the back of the room, turning another page.

"She'll learn." Cloud promised them. "I see a lot of potential for her. She's an outsider like us."

"How the hell is SHE an outsider?" Flame asked in genuine bewilderment.

"Doesn't matter." He said as Melody opened her mouth to answer. "In this gang, pasts are in the past."

Flame shrugged. "Fair enough. Can I help her in bed-I mean SETTING UP her bed now?" he corrected himself in a flurry of panic and laughed nervously. "Slip of the tongue." He told her, though she didn't seem to notice the slip up.

Cloud smirked. It appeared the newest member of the gang already had a number one fan. "Sure, as long as she's ok with it."

She nodded and smiled. "Yes, please-oh!" Flame wasted no time and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her to the side of the room where they kept the spare bedrolls. Her feet scrambled to find footing and along the way she kicked over a bag. Cloud didn't think anything of it until she looked back saying; "I am so sorry-oh, whose stuffed teddy bear is this?" she picked it off the ground and gave it a squeeze.

Cloud was trying to decide what was worse. The way his skin crawled as someone else touched the last thing he had left of his sister or the surprised faces of his companions.

"I never saw that before." Flame walked over to stand beside her. The thoughtful look on his face turned to Cloud. "Hey, dude. Isn't this your bedroll?"

A snort from Rose made fighting back the blush on his face increasingly more difficult. "Aw, does little Cloudy need his teddy to sleep at night?" she asked in a baby voice, putting her thumb in her mouth and sucking it as she did so. Flame laughed loudly at this.

Cloud did his best to compose himself. A real gang leader wouldn't run outside and hide in a dark corner like he desperately wanted to. He had no reason to be ashamed and he would prove it.

He stomped over to Melody and grabbed the bear out of her hands. "That's not mine." He told them as he put it back into his bag. "It belonged to someone I cared about a lot." Before he closed the bag, he paused to stroke the bear with his thumb sadly.

"Chill, man." Flame said after the laughing fit wore off. "She's just messing with you. If you have attachment issues, we won't judge."

Cloud frowned and closed the bag, shoving it into a corner. "I mean what I said. Weren't you supposed to be helping Melody with setting up a place to sleep?" he snapped crossly.

"I am very sorry." Melody whimpered. "I did not mean to upset you so much."

Cloud could only stare at her. What was she talking about? Sure there was a whirlwind of emotions going on inside of him, but he was doing a good enough job of hiding most of it. Yet she acted like he was close to bawling.

"It's fine." He managed a chuckle. "It's just a dumb misunderstanding."

She didn't say anything, only followed Flame to the bedrolls.

Cloud wondered if the blonde knew more about him than she said. She already said that she could tell he had a good heart, but could she sense more than that? If that was the case, how could she respect him as a leader if she could see past the calm and into the turmoil?

Would he ever truly escape his past? 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**I had no choice, I had to cut it in half again. You guys have waited long enough and I'm getting tired. Now that school's started again, juggling this along with homework has been a challenge. But I promise you guys, I won't give up. This story will finish very soon, so help me God.**

**Thanks for the patience and the love as always. The memories WILL end in the next chapter and then the fun really starts.**

**Review!**


	22. Familiar Eyes

Chapter 22 

* * *

Familiar Eyes 

* * *

"Are you sure about this Cloud?" Flame asked almost timidly. "I heard Blake got even more skilled in thievery since we last saw him. And he's got a gang now."

"I know. Do you think I would plan this if I didn't do any research?" Cloud retorted.

"Is that what you've been doing when you sneak out at night?" Rose raised a black eyebrow. "Trek all the way to Varrock, spy, and come back?"

"I wouldn't necessary call it spying. I've just gotten close enough to their hideout to hear them talk. There's about six of them, but the one blonde, I know she's a blonde cause I got a glimpse of her once, is clumsy and spoiled. Not fit to be a thief, basically. So technically we only have to worry about five of them."

Flame pointed to each one of them in turn and frowned. "But there's four of us."

"So? We're not going to fight them." Rose shrugged.

"No. Not if we don't have to." Cloud agreed. "We'll just steal from right under their noses. They won't even know we're there."

"I am not sure if I like this." Melody muttered quietly from the back. "What if we DO need to fight?"

Flame moved over to where she was and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry; I'll be by your side the whole time. They won't touch you as long as I'm there." Melody smiled in acknowledgement.

Cloud nodded at him. "Right, are we ready?"

"Wait." Rose stopped him. "Where are they right now?"

"They have one guy in a guard uniform at the main door. The rest are hiding in a bush nearby. Let's get inside before they do."

The others nodded and as one they closed their helmets. They each wore the suit of a Varrock Palace guard's armor. They would each station around different sections in the Palace and wait for the thieves in the 'Varrock gang' to show up where they would then warn other guards of their presence and while everyone's busy, they would steal the treasure the gang had acquired for their own use. It benefited them and, if everything went as planned; it would also get rid of the rival gang. Or at least most of them.

The guards did nothing as they approached in their disguises. Only the rival gang member in his own fake costume opened the door for them and saluted. Cloud couldn't help but smirk behind his helmet. They had no idea what was about to happen. And in their own territory as well.

Once they were inside, he felt a tug on his armor and looked over to see the hazel eyes of Melody staring out from under her headgear. She looked worried even after Flame's promise to her.

"Cloud? I am still not sure about this. When you told me the story of how you met Blake, did you not warn him to stay out of our…territory, is it?"

"Yeah. This is just our way of enforcing that rule. And we get stuff out of it too."

"But…will we not make him…angry?"

Cloud knew that she had a point, but he wished she wouldn't ask about it now. They were already in the heart of Varrock. There was no turning back now. She would just have to get over her jitters.

"They won't even know we were ever here." Cloud told her as optimistically as he could. "They can't get mad at us if they don't know it's our fault. Everything's going to be fine."

He hoped.

She smiled and he inwardly let out a breath. He didn't completely believe his own words, but he couldn't let his gang know that. They had to believe this plan was full proof. They didn't have to know that everything could crumble with one slip up.

Once they got to a fork in the first floor of the palace, Cloud announced. "Alright. This is where we part ways. Remember where you're supposed to be and keep hidden. If there looks like any trouble, any troubles at all, get the hell out of there. Understood?"

At everyone's nod, Cloud made a sharp turn and headed up the stairs. The armor felt loose and clumsy and he knew it wouldn't hold any sort of protection if they DID have to fight. He just needed to keep it on for the time being until all hell broke loose and he could grab the items he desired and get out of there.

He turned corners and walked down many hallways. He only had the memory of the Varrock gang describing the palace to go on. He thought he knew where he was going, however. But the place seemed like such a maze he couldn't know for certain.

Nevertheless, he managed to find his way to a huge sealed up door with an iron lock. Cloud crouched down to examine it. He wasn't an expert in lock picking, but he could tell this was a very complicated seal. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to try to unlock it. He got back up and went around the nearest corner. There he leaned back and waited for one of the newest 'servants' to show up.

While he waited, he couldn't help but think how far he'd come. This was a big job, and on enemy territory no less. He was completely calm, except for the nagging worry for the rest of his gang. But he had to ignore that and trust them. Flame and Rose were completely capable and Melody…well Flame would keep an eye on her.

It took a little while for Cloud to hear walking and he glanced around the corner. He was expecting a guy, but instead there was a blonde in a maid's outfit. Cloud frowned and his calmness was slowly starting to deteriorate.

He made himself sit still while the girl took out a lock pick and wiggled around with it. She didn't even bother to look up for danger. She just had a pissed off look on her face and Cloud figured she was acting out of spite. He debated abandoning the plan and confronting her before she screwed something up, but just then the door suddenly clicked and she pushed it open.

Before he could move a muscle, a real guard appeared around a corner and called out. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Cloud waited for the girl to act innocent or come up with a clever lie, but instead she dropped the lock pick and took off running straight past him. He resisted the urge to hit himself on the forehead with his palm. Everything about this situation was wrong and idiotic.

"Get back here!" the guard just about ran into the spiky haired blonde, but stopped him just in time. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded. "You let that thief run right past you!"

Cloud put on a fake face and looked back as if confused. "That maid? You mean she was a thief?"

The guard narrowed his eyes from under his open helmet. "I don't recognize you. What's your name?"

Cloud cursed his heart as it pumped harder. If this guard removed his helmet, would he even know who he was? How close were the Falador and Varrock guards? Close enough to warn one another of their thieves?

"Doesn't matter." Cloud spoke without thinking. "There're thieves in the palace! We need to warn the king." He tried to move as if to do just that, but the guard wrapped a firm, gloved hand around his wrist.

"Not so fast." He growled. "You're not going anywhere."

Cloud knew he didn't have any choice. He whipped around and threw out his fist squarely at the guard's vulnerable spot on his helmet. The guard yelled in surprise and let go of his arm in response, giving Cloud the chance to kick out his leg. It connected with the man's stomach and knocked him onto his back.

He didn't waste any more time and took off running back the way he had come. He slowed down to take one last, longing look at the open vault but made himself keep going as the fallen guard called out warnings to any other close by guards. He couldn't stay there to face about five guards that would answer the call.

It didn't take long for chaos to ignite. The news spread quickly and all around him men and women rushed around. He tried to remember the way out, but between the flurry of activity and the ache of the heavy armor, he tripped.

He heaved himself against a wall and started to take off the uncomfortable armor, revealing his regular, far more manageable clothes underneath. He gritted his teeth at a sting and looked down at the wrist the guard had grabbed. He had apparently twisted it when Cloud punched him and a bruise was beginning to show. He would have to worry about it later.

He left the guard uniform lying on the floor and zipped off. He was now much faster and his head was clearer. He easily found his way back to the staircase. He stomped down without even considering the dangerous position he would be in if a guard caught him on there.

Halfway down he heard footsteps and automatically froze. He looked back up to see if he was crazy or if he was being followed. He barely had enough time to turn before something collided with him and he lost his balance, tumbling down the spiral stairs. He finally stopped rolling and he groaned at the pain that was no longer just in his wrist.

"Watch where you're going!" a feminine voice snapped at him. He twitched in annoyance while rubbing his sore…everything. It was probably that dumb blonde that messed everything up.

"ME watch where I'm going? You're the one that flew down the freaking stairs!" he shot back, ignoring the fact that he had stopped in the middle of them.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?"

Right now, he was angry. And he was growing angrier every time this blonde chick talked. He examined the rest of his body to make sure nothing was broken while he answered with, "You and your stupid gang always ruin everything!"

Truthfully, it was really just their leader that had ruined their plans once before. But it seemed every time there was something with Blake involved, something went wrong. And it was never his gang's fault.

"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't do anything!" The angry girl continued expressing her rage which only ticked him off more. First she ruined everything, and now she was denying it? He looked up to tell her just what he thought of her.

"You-"his words dropped at the tip of his tongue.

This wasn't the blonde. This girl had black as night hair and amazing green eyes that were blazing cold hatred at the moment. She was also wearing a maid outfit, except this was far smaller and she had no shoes on. He didn't stop to question that.

His eyes were stuck on her own. The twin green fires were so familiar, but he just couldn't place them. It gnawed at his mind. He felt that he HAD to know who she was. But neither a name, nor a clear face showed up in his mind.

He could say one thing for sure, though he didn't really want to.

This girl was gorgeous.

He shook his head to stop the rapid mass of thoughts. She was from the rival gang. How could he even think of something like that? And how could he let himself gawk at her like a lovesick little boy?

He attempted to cover it up with a smirk. "Sorry sweetie," he decided to act like exactly what she probably thought of him as of this moment; a jerk, "I guess I was mistaken. I thought you were that blonde haired bimbo that almost got caught."

The hatred in her eyes dimmed slightly, but her tone remained sharp as she demanded, "Who are you anyway?"

He stood up and leaned against the wall. His mind was still in such a flurry that he didn't consider the consequences when he replied to her. "Honey, I have many names. But you can call me Cloud." He winked at her and resisted the urge to laugh like an idiot when she rolled her eyes.

"I meant where did you come from and how do you know about my gang?"

Cloud wondered how someone like her got mixed up with Blake. She was feisty, but she was far too cute to be in the Varrock gang. He was enjoying talking to her. The more annoyed she got, the more adorable she became. "Geez sweetheart if you wanted to know all that why didn't you be more specific? I'm the leader of the Falador gang. I'm sure your precious leader has told you all about me."

She opened her mouth, but to Cloud's utter disappointment a figure appeared beside them before she could talk. To make matters worse, it was the last person he wanted to see. Blake jumped in front of the girl, away from his view.

"Cloud, get the hell away from her!" he warned. He turned to her and said in a quieter voice, "We need to go. Now." He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Cloud, farther down the hallway.

He couldn't move. It was like his feet were nailed to the floor as he watched the girl be dragged away by Blake's grimy claws. He couldn't ignore the weird feeling he felt, like he had just lost a close friend. But he didn't even know the girl.

His heart skipped a beat when she suddenly looked back, but the feeling couldn't last. He heard rapid footsteps and sounds of clanking from heavy armor, so for about the hundredth time that day he ran. He desperately hoped that his gang had remembered the backup plan and had gotten out safely. If not, he knew he would have to go back in and retrieve them.

He was able to find his way out and was delighted to see Flame, Rose, and Melody waiting for him beside some hedges. He motioned them to get up and follow him and they didn't stop moving until they were out of the Varrock Palace's vicinity.

He allowed them to stop and catch their breath, but only for a short time. They couldn't stay in Varrock for too long. They had already been caught and overstayed their welcome.

"What…happened in there?" Rose asked between breaths.

"…what?" Cloud said absent mindedly. He was still having trouble focusing. What was wrong with him?

"She asked what happened." Flame repeated. "…you ok, dude?"

"I'm fine." Cloud shrugged away the weird looks he was getting. "The Varrock gang messed up as usual, that's all."

Melody walked in front of him and stared at him intently. Cloud felt uncomfortable when she did that. It's like her hazel eyes could read his soul like a book just by looking at his face.

"Cloud, why is your face the color of pink?" she asked innocently.

He felt his face burning up and moved away from her as fast as he could. "I'm just out of breath." He told her. Changing the subject he said, "Let's get back to the hideout."

* * *

"Cloud! Wake up. Please!"

Cloud jumped upright out of his bedroll. "What? What's wrong?" he asked in a half asleep tone. He rubbed his fists over his eyes to try to clear away his blurry vision.

Melody was leaning over him. Her hazel eyes looked wide and terrified. "Rose and Flame are outside. The Varrock gang are here and they're attacking!"

"WHAT?" Cloud was now fully awake and he jumped to his feet. "How did they find us?" he growled as he ran up the steps.

"They must have followed Flame and Rose." Cloud could hear the tremble in her voice as she followed him. "What do we do?"

"We fight them." Melody's footsteps stopped and he had to halt as well. He turned to see tears slowly building in her eyes.

He sighed and walked down until he was level with her. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, look at me." He gently gripped her chin and held it up to face him. "Would I let anything happen to you?"

"No," she squeaked.

"Didn't I give you basic combat training?"

"Yes, but-"

"And didn't I say that you're fully capable of handling yourself?"

"Yes-"

"Then there's no reason to be afraid."

He gave her a comforting smile and she nodded with a swallow. "Ok..."

He let go of her and pushed back the statue that covered their hideout. Once it was removed, he could hear yells, melee noises, and arrows whizzing about. He realized it was still nighttime and there were no guards coming to check on the sounds. Where were they? The ONE time guards would have actually been useful and they were nowhere to be found.

He jumped back as an arrow stuck into the ground mere inches from where his face was. He would have fallen back down the stairs if Melody wasn't there to steady him. He nodded quick thanks and tried to locate where the arrows were coming from. Finally he saw it. Two female archers were kneeling on the wall, firing arrows at him and targets he could not yet see.

His heart jumped as he recognized the one girl as the girl he bumped into at the Varrock Palace. She looked annoyed, but determined at the same time. He realized she wasn't even looking at him, let alone aiming at him. A dark blonde was instead nocking another arrow to shoot at him.

He didn't give her the chance. He grabbed Melody's arm and threw her next to him against a building. The arrow bounced harmlessly next to them.

"What do we do?" Melody asked. He was impressed how she was at least trying to keep her voice steady, even though she was shaking like a leaf.

"Stick to the shadows and see if you can Flame or Rose. I don't hear any fighting right now so they're probably hiding which means the Varrock gang is looking for us." He rapidly tried to think of the best plan for the situation that wouldn't get them all killed.

"I will find Flame." Melody lifted her head with determination and stood up.

"Wait!" Cloud lifted a hand to stop her. He took out a dagger he had stuffed in his shirt and held it out. "Take this just in case."

She shook her head. "You can do more damage with it. I do not believe that I could draw blood."

He stood up and placed it in her hand. "Take it," he repeated. "It'll make me feel better knowing you have a weapon. If they catch you without one, you'll be a sitting duck."

"But then you have no weapon." She protested.

"I'll be fine. Just find Rose and Flame and tell them to come back to the hideout."

"But then we will be trapped, will we not?"

"Just trust me. I have a plan." He pushed her toward another building. "Go!"

Once he was sure she was gone and safe for the time being, Cloud glanced out from behind the building. The archers were no longer at the same spot and he could run back to the hideout without being seen.

He ran down the stairs, only to stop dead as an arrow stuck into the dirt wall only half an inch away from his neck.

"Not another move." A feminine voice warned from the shadows. A fire had been lit and he could only just see the outlines of the speaker. She was pointing a pulled back bow straight at his head. For a moment he was afraid to look into her eyes. Why? Was he afraid they'd be bright green? Why should he care?

He finally looked up and relaxed. The eyes were green, but they also had shades of blue in them. It wasn't the same girl.

Before Cloud could even speak, another shadow loomed up behind the girl and lunged at her. She yelled out in surprise, but it was cut off as her head hit the floor and she became silent.

Cloud smiled at the healer. "Thought you didn't believe in fighting anymore, old man." He raised an eyebrow.

Irit scoffed and smoothed out his cloak. "I can't have these ruffians breaking anything in my lab. I stayed hiding and the simple minded fool never knew I was there."

Cloud's smile faded. Remembering his plan he ordered, "Grab as many sticks as you can find."

"Why?" he asked even as he moved to obey the order.

"Whatever weapons they may have, it won't be a match for a nasty burn mark."

"What about her?" Irit nodded at the girl lying knocked out on the ground.

"Tie her up and we'll worry about her later." He turned his back to pick up more sticks. He wished one of them knew how to use a bow. Flaming arrows would be a high advantage in this fight. He threw a few more sticks on the fire as Irit started to drag the girl into a corner and he looked up the stairs to make sure no one else was coming down.

He suddenly heard a grunt and ran back. To his shock, the girl was standing over the body of a knocked out Irit with a satisfied grin. She looked at him with a glare when he entered and her eyes flew downward.

He remembered her bow and lunged toward it before she could grab it, knocking it into the fire. The bow went up in flames and the fire sprang to life. Cloud tried to get away from the sudden threat, but the girl charged him from the side and knocked him off his feet.

He only just saw the dagger in her hand and she drew it back to sink it into his flesh. He grabbed her arm just as she brought it down to make the killing blow and twisted her, kicking her against the wall. He got back on his feet, which gave her just enough time to get away from the wall.

She took a swipe at him. He easily dodged it but he already guessed what she was doing. The flame was getting steadily worse and she was trying to knock him into it. When she swiped again, this time he dodged and grabbed her arm once again. She tried to kick him, but he was ready and jumped to one side, at the same time pulling her right into the fire.

She screamed and managed to avoid it just before she made contact, but she had lost grip of the dagger and he had caught it. She turned to face him again, but then stayed where she was. Her eyes darted around, drinking in the situation. She had no weapon, her back was against a spreading fire, and the exit was wide open. She took the sanest choice and charged up the stairs.

Cloud wanted to give chase, but he knew if he did their hideout would go up in flames. He did what he could to get it under control as fast as he could. Once it was mostly taken care of, he turned to go after her. His foot hit something soft and he froze.

He felt his heart thud. He looked down at his feet and lifted up his one foot.

His backpack he had brought with him was almost completely destroyed. And next to it laid Princess's teddy bear, nothing but a charred crisp.

He leaned down and picked it up. Suddenly the fight outside didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. He bit his quivering lip and felt a single tear run down his cheek. The last thing he had to remember his baby sister was gone.

And it was their fault.

He dropped the remains of the teddy bear and wielded his dagger. He could see nothing but red now. He only knew one thing. To find the Varrock gang and kill them for what they did.

He only just got out of the hideout when he practically tripped over the dark blonde haired girl he had fought. She was cornered by Rose, who had blood trickling down her forehead. The enemy girl didn't look much better. She was clasping her arm as blood gushed around it.

Cloud didn't hesitate. He grabbed the trapped girl and threw her unceremoniously on the ground. He pinned her down and allowed the tip of the dagger to just pierce her throat. She yelled in agony.

"STOP!"

He didn't want to stop. He wanted to feel the dagger slice through her throat and see the blood run down his fingers. He wanted her to die.

"AMPHETRO!" the voice came again. This time Cloud looked up in time to see a dark haired guy with dark blue eyes coming running toward him at a surprising speed. But before he could get close enough, Blake appeared seemingly of nowhere and blocked him.

"Wait." He growled. "Get any closer and he'll kill her."

"If you don't do something he'll kill her anyway." The Varrock gang member countered.

Before he knew it, all the gang members, including his own, were in the square. Flame and Melody had joined Rose in standing over Cloud, ready to defend him if need be.

Cloud was breathing hard. The sting of finding the obliterated stuffed animal still fresh on his mind. What he wanted more than anything was the ragged breathing girl underneath him to breathe her last breath. And he knew right now he could get away with it. But all hell could break loose if he did.

"Let her go!"

His ice blue eyes flicked toward the sound. Behind Blake he could just see the green-eyed girl. The sight of her, the sight of her looking at him with pure anger, for some reason made him feel sick.

"Quiet, Shadow." Blake snapped at the girl. "It's her own fault that she's in this mess. I told her to stay on the wall and attack with arrows and she disobeyed me."

"SO YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET HER DIE?" the blue eyed man yelled in outrage. His eyes were filled with pain.

Blake ignored his fellow gang member and instead looked to them. "Release her." He said in a tone that didn't sound much like a request.

"You're in no position to be giving us orders." Rose spat.

"Why shouldn't we kill her?" Flame asked coldly. "YOU attacked US."

Instead of countering, Blake walked backward with his hands up. "Fine. Kill her. I don't really care either way."

The rest of his gang looked at him with shock in their eyes while the blue eyed gang member looked about ready to murder him in cold blood right then and there.

"Blake, let her die and I swear your own life follows." He said in a tone that made Cloud sure he wasn't bluffing.

"You care for her enough to take my life, Narmo?" Blake asked in undistinguished amusement.

"I care for her enough to take my own if need be." The man called Narmo said.

Cloud felt his hands shake. A drop of blood had plastered on his hand where he held the dagger up to Amphetro's neck. What was he doing? Was he really ready to take this girl's life over a stuffed animal? Was he that much of a monster?

He took the dagger away and backed away from the wounded body, urging his own gang to follow his lead. "Take her. Take her and never come back."

Narmo immediately fell next to her and took pieces from his own shirt to stop the bleeding, all the while kissing her face over and over. Cloud now felt sick to the pit of his stomach. This boy loved her and he was about to rip her away from him.

"Enough." Blake strolled over to him as if nothing had affected him in the slightest. "We'll leave." His eyes looked up to bore into Cloud's. "But this isn't over."

A shorter boy with light brown hair jumped at Blake's order. "Marcus! Help Narmo."

Cloud and his gang watched the rival gang pack up their wounded and leave with their heads held high, as if they were choosing to leave. Cloud's gaze didn't leave the girl that he now knew as Shadow. He watched her go up to speak to Blake, but he merely shrugged her away. It made his blood boil. He didn't know why, it just did.

"We…we won." Flame spoke for the first time as the last of the gang left the city.

Melody shook her head. "I do not believe anyone won in this battle." She whispered as the first traces of sun appeared over the horizon.

* * *

The last trace of the bleeding sky was gone and replaced with oncoming darkness. Cloud couldn't move. The conversation with Melody felt like he had taken a frozen arrow straight to the chest. At the same time it felt like a storm that was raging in his mind for so long finally showed the first rays of sunlight. It was…confusing to say the least.

Melody's question played over and over in his mind. "How can a human that was nearly killed by another human still be in love with that said human?"

Love.

Was that the emotion he had been feeling for so long toward Shadow? The feeling he couldn't quite understand, or wanted to for that matter? Had she cast a spell on his heart without him even realizing? He felt like an idiot if that was the case. How could he have been in love and not even known it?

He had tried to ignore his feelings for her when he and his gang found her outside of Varrock with a twisted leg. He knew it was an amazing opportunity and let his thief side poison any other rational thoughts. Now he was paying the price. She would probably never speak to him again and he didn't blame her. But the way he felt about Rose, it was completely lust. There was more to the story with Shadow.

And he wanted them to find out together.

He sprang to his feet and shuffled down the ladder as fast as he could. "Mel!" he called out to the half-fairy. He wanted to catch her before she got back to the hideout. He just about ran into her when he got to the bottom. She was waiting there with her eyes crossed and a devious smile on her face. At least as much as a fairy could manage.

"Yes?" she batted her eyelashes innocently.

"You've always been able to read my emotions better than I can. Am I really in…?" the word stuck in his throat.

She shrugged and turned with a fake baffled expression. "It is not up to me to say. Only you can answer that question. So," She turned back to stare intently into his eyes, "what are you feeling right this moment?"

"Like…like I want to find her."

"And?" Melody leaned forward. Her hazel eyes were glowing.

"And…apologize."

"And?"

"And…" he swallowed the nervousness that was making his throat close up, "tell her that I love her."

Melody smiled and nodded. "Yes, I believe that IS what you are feeling." She winked.

The excitement in Cloud's chest suddenly deflated. "But…what about the gang? I can't just leave, I'm the leader!"

"Flame and the rest of us will be able to manage."

Cloud felt proud. Melody wasn't the same girl with the tear-stained face he had found so long ago. She had grown confident and skillful. But she hadn't lost her caring disposition.

"You mean they'll understand why I left?" Cloud asked in disbelief. "For a girl?"

She giggled at this. "We knew long before you figured it out yourself." She said simply.

He ignored the blush on his cheeks. "Then…I got to get going!" he skipped over to the hideout and pushed the statue aside.

"Wait, Cloud!"

"Not now, Mel. I got to get packed. Gods, this is the happiest I've felt in a long time. It's like things finally make sense. I'm going to find Shadow and-"

"But you are forgetting one important detail." Melody called as she ran to catch up. "You still need to tell…"

They both froze at the bottom of the stairs.

In front of them the hideout was trashed. Drops of blood were scattered around and one looked like a trail. Cloud's eyes followed it until it led to a pool of crimson liquid. And in the center of it, drenched in the stuff, was…

"Rose," Cloud whispered.

"Rose!" Melody shrieked it more loudly and ran to her friend's side. She turned her over and Cloud could now see the straight, clean cut in her throat. The blood was still flowing which meant whoever did this had only just left.

He whipped around to find the murderer, but Melody called him back. "No! It's not worth it…she's gone."

Cloud turned back and stumbled over to the bloody body. He lightly gripped Rose's limp head and lifted an ear next to her open mouth. No breath. He drew back sharply. Her eyes were closed so she either sensed that she was dying or whoever did this had enough decency to close them. He highly doubted the second option.

"Where…where are Flame and Irit?" Melody asked. She was repeatedly swallowing as she held her friend against her. Cloud could tell she was trying not to cry. He didn't like it. He knew thieves weren't supposed to care about death, but he never agreed with that. Especially not with someone close to them.

"They left to steal more supplies for Irit." He said to answer her question. He reached out a hand and took hers, caressing it gently. "You can cry if you want to." He whispered.

She shook her head, her wavy golden locks bouncing around. "I will grieve for her later. There is work to be done right now." She looked up at him. "But not for you."

"What?"

"You must go to Varrock. Search for Shadow. The one thing, the one doubt that would stop her from forgiving you is gone. Go."

As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't go yet. As if it wasn't enough that he was leaving them leaderless, how could he leave them now when one of their own had been killed by an unknown assassin? What if they would come back?

"I want to stay here for a few days. Just until things calm down."

"You do not-"

"I want to. There will be plenty of time to find Shadow. I'll stay for two days. Three tops."

She started to stroke Rose's black hair and for a moment he wondered if she heard. Then she nodded and whispered, "Ok".

"Let's get rid of all this blood before the guys get back. We'll get through this. I won't abandon you, even when it's time to leave. All you have to do is look for me."

She blinked up at him. "Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

Shadow had listened to every word in silence. She had almost started crying when Cloud recited the death of his sister. He probably wouldn't have noticed. He had gone in a trance of some sort while he remembered and retold the story he had most likely not told for a long time. She felt waves of sympathy for him, even if she didn't want to.

"I'm…I'm sorry." Was all she could seem to get out. Her voice sounded more like a croak from not using it for so long.

Cloud smiled tenderly at her. "Don't be sorry. Just say you'll forgive me. Please."

She looked down at the empty bowl beside her. She had become so hungry and it tasted so good…she didn't regret it. Maybe he was right. Accepting help every now and again wasn't a bad thing.

"I lost someone I care about too." She said after a while. "Actually three people-"

"You don't need to tell me your own story if you don't want to." He said quickly.

She stared intently at him. Remembering Midnight's own words she said, "You unburdened yourself, now it's my turn. I lost my parents to the blade of someone who's now my best friend. The only friend I've ever had. My brother died only a short while ago to a Varrock guard."

He stared at her as if she grew another head. "Sheesh…and I thought I was messed up." He chuckled, then stopped and hung his head. "Sorry. I'm not very good at this."

"So…you were the boy I met years ago? When we were both little?" she leaned forward. "That was you?"

He nodded with a wide smile. "Surprised me too when I connected the dots. I have no idea how I couldn't see it before. I've never seen eyes like yours." He reached out to touch her face, but she flinched away. He looked disappointed.

"I know I haven't done much to make you trust me, but please. I'm running out of ways to say sorry."

"Do you really mean it?" she tried to look at anything but him. "Are you…in love with me?"

This time he grabbed her hand before she could take it away. "I'm still not entirely sure about these things I'm feeling, but I know when I'm around you nothing matters anymore…and I act like a complete idiot. But more so the other thing. Give me a chance and I'll spend the rest of my existence trying to win your trust if that's what it takes."

Shadow tried to keep a straight face, but the way he said this in complete seriousness made her burst out giggling like a little girl. She tried to cover her mouth, but didn't stop. She didn't think she had laughed like this in a long time.

Cloud laughed slightly as well, probably mostly out of relief. "What?"

"The rival ex-leader of my ex-gang is proclaiming his love to me in a hole." She said after her fit passed. "It's funny."

He took this moment to get closer, and she didn't try to back away. He took her other hand and squeezed them. "So…will you give me a chance?"

She was vaguely aware of her heart beating up into her throat. She wouldn't say it out loud, but this was something she wanted for a long time. She knew something was missing and now she knew for sure what it was. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. But could she risk putting her heart out to get hurt again? Could she trust him?

Looking into his ice blue eyes and being so close that she could feel his warm breath…it just felt so right.

"Shadow?" he prompted. She could tell his heart was pounding just as much as hers.

"Come to my guild with me."

His eyes lit up even bluer than they were, if that was even possible. "Really?"

"I'm not quite sure what I'm feeling either, but I'm willing to find out." She held out a finger before he could speak. "But at my own pace." Her thoughts went back to Blake. He had moved so fast with her and for his own selfish reasons. Oh sure he said he cared about her, but that was just a lie to get what he wanted. It's what it always was. She didn't want a repeat.

He moved away from her a little. "Ok. We'll move as slow as you want. No pressure." He smiled again. "I'm just so damn happy that you don't hate me."

She raised an eyebrow and suddenly lurched forward, wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin against his shoulder. "I never hated you. I wanted to, but I couldn't." she admitted.

He tensed, but a moment later he wrapped his own arms around her. They stayed in that position for what felt like an hour. They didn't want to let go. Somehow neither of them could put into words just how much they cared about the other. But maybe someday.

Shadow would ask Mazchna if yet another non-slayer could enter the guild. She expected that to not go too well, but what choice did she have? She wanted what Cloud was offering and if this was the only way to get it, then so be it. She could take getting her head chewed off, even losing her title if it meant being with him.

For the first time since her brother died, she didn't feel like a zombie. She didn't feel numb. She felt…

Happy. 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**Memories are finally finished! Hope you enjoyed reading about Cloud's past and that it cleared up a few questions you might have. For those of you wondering, in the chapter where we see Shadow's POV in the Varrock Palace raid, Blake says a maid finds Mallory. In this version, Cloud sees a guard catch her. This is intentional so nobody panic, though I have made a lot of dumb mistakes before.**

**Cloud's joining the guild? What'll happen between him and Shadow now? Will she be able to trust him? Will they allow themselves to fall for each other like they really want to?**

**Review!**


	23. Guilt

Chapter 23 

* * *

Guilt 

* * *

"Would you quit laughing at me!"

"I can't help it. The look on your face when you saw the size of that Bloodveld's tongue was priceless."

"How was I supposed to know that would happen? It's not like you warned me!"

"Hey, be grateful I killed it before it could throw you out of the damn window." Shadow grinned at Cloud.

"Now you're just making stuff up." Cloud narrowed his eyes.

She shrugged innocently. "Fine. Let one get a hold of you and we'll see who's making stuff up."

"I think I'll pass. But c'mon, you have to admit I did well for my first time fighting them. Come on," he nudged her with his elbow, "admit it."

She rolled her eyes with a sigh. "It was kind of hard to mess up that practice session. There was only a couple of them."

"You're a hard-ass teacher, you know that?"

"And you're a hard-headed student." Shadow countered.

"How?"

"You get distracted WAY too easily."

He moved closer and swung his arm around her. "Can you blame a guy when he has such a pretty instructor?" he inquired smoothly.

She rolled her eyes once again, but didn't move his arm. She looked at the ground and said, "You should know by now that doesn't work."

"Then why are you blushing Oh Great Slayer Master?" Cloud teased.

She pushed his arm away and allowed her hair to fall over her face. "I'm not a slayer master yet." She changed the subject.

"Once that demon kicks the bucket you will be." He offered.

"'That demon' is my mentor and let you in the guild when you didn't know the first thing about slaying."

"Now I do, thanks to you."

"Still doesn't mean it's right for you to slander him."

"Ah we've thieves, what do we know about right and wrong?"

"EX thieves." She corrected with a glare.

"I know. I was just kidding." He put up his hands in defense.

"You-"

"GUYS!" a shrill shriek split the forever dark air as Cloud and Shadow got closer to the guild. "SHADOW! CLOUD!"

"April?" Shadow asked in surprise as the peppy purple girl burst from the trees and stopped in front of them, gasping for air. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Thank the gods I found you." April said after getting back her breath. "Mallory's having the baby!"

"What?" Shadow exclaimed, automatically taking a step back.

"Are you sure?" Cloud asked.

April giggled. "Yeah I'd say I'm sure. Ramankila sent me to find you." She looked at Shadow.

"Me? Why?" Shadow asked dumbly. Her head was still swimming from the news.

"Why else? It's YOUR niece or nephew, silly! You're going to be an aunt. Aren't you excited?" April couldn't stand still.

"Ecstatic." Shadow held her sides, suddenly feeling ill.

"Let's go or we'll miss it!" April snatched her hand and yanked her toward the direction of the guild, making her stomach only lurch more.

"Yeah, Shadow! Wouldn't want to miss the deafening screams." Cloud made a sarcastic remark behind them. Though it did manage to calm Shadow down slightly.

A baby? How could Mallory be giving birth already? Had it really been that long?

Shadow thought of the events that led up to this moment. To her surprise she realized it had been over a month since Cloud showed up in her life and joined her guild. Since then more rooms were built and Mallory got her own place, though it was more like a nursery at this point. Though Shadow knew if Mazchna caught her calling it a nursery he would bite her head off. He already didn't like the idea of one pregnant non-slayer living in the guild. He wouldn't want to advertise it as a safe place for expectant mothers to stay.

Cloud didn't exactly make the greatest impression when meeting Mazchna, but Shadow suspected that her demon mentor liked him more than he would say. The blonde spiky haired boy learned quickly when it came to slaying and once his training was complete, Shadow was confident he'd easily become a legend one day.

She had agreed to take him on as a student. Granted, it wasn't easy balancing her second in command duties with teaching him. She had to admit she liked spending time with him. It was a good way for her to get to know him without anything to make it weird. Most new couples would date. She was teaching him how to slay disgusting monsters. She wasn't complaining. She was comfortable with the arrangement. Some nights they did actually spend one on one time without teaching him sword techniques in between. She liked those too.

There was no doubt that they were so much closer than before. She was more open with him, even going as far as to tell him about her brother's murder and how she didn't feel anything. She was surprised when he didn't judge her or point out the obvious. He just listened to her. She liked that.

It was humorous when she introduced him to Midnight. He didn't laugh or act like he even noticed her unusually pale skin or her scars. She could tell she was surprised, or just impressed. Shadow had warned him beforehand that she couldn't feel anything. Even so, she didn't expect him to be so calm when he met the Soulless. But at least now she knew, even if Midnight hadn't told her, she liked the blue eyed boy. That made her happy.

As soon as they stepped into the guild, Shadow's thoughts were broken by the sounds of pain and sheer agony. It made her skin crawl and she was grateful when Cloud lightly touched her hand. It was subtle, but it reminded her that she wasn't alone.

She frowned at herself. She could face about twenty guards without breaking a sweat but when it came to someone giving birth, she broke into a cold sweat? She wasn't even the one having the child!

"I'm such a wuss." Shadow muttered under her breath so that April couldn't hear.

"You've never seen someone give birth before." Cloud shrugged beside her. "And no offence but I wouldn't vote you 'most likely to have a kid' yet."

Yet? Shadow decided to ignore that. "I'm not even there and it sucks."

"What are you two whispering about back there?" April piped up.

"Nothing," they said in unison and didn't speak again until they reached Ramankila's healing den. The source of the screaming could be heard clear as day now. Shadow couldn't help but cover her ears. The sound of the girl in pain made her want to jab her ears with daggers.

"It'll be over soon." April told her gently upon seeing her wincing in discomfort. "Mallory was doing really well when I left."

"RONALDO!" the girl shouted the name of Shadow's deceased brother. The sick feeling in her stomach only got worse. The amount of desperate need in the blonde's voice was unbearable. Shadow pressed her back against the dirt wall and slid down until she was sitting. She wanted nothing more but to leave.

Cloud sat next to her and this time grabbed her hand, stroking it gently. The concern in his eyes caught her off guard. She still wasn't used to seeing such clear feelings when she looked in his ice blue eyes. She expected him to be like any other thief she met. They hid their feelings and she had to look deep into their eyes to tell what they were really thinking. With him, it required no effort. Probably because he didn't want to hide. She felt bad that she still couldn't completely trust him enough to do the same. Not yet.

"It'll get better." He promised her. "I…I went through this when my mother had my sister. It's hell knowing you can't do anything to help, but you just have to trust them enough to know they'll get through this."

"What if she dies?" the words escaped before she could think about them.

Just like that, the screaming stopped.

It was instead replaced with crying. The cry of a newborn child.

The door opened and the bent head of Ramankila peeked out. The usually grumpy woman-creature was smiling.

"Well don't just stare young'uns. Come meet the newest face of this world."

April jumped up with a gleeful squeak. She pushed past Ramankila with lightning speed and she followed her inside. Cloud stood up, but Shadow remained where she was.

"Are you coming?" Cloud asked her.

She didn't move. She felt frozen. So frozen that she couldn't get a word out.

He crouched down and looked at her. "It's over." He whispered. "Don't you want to meet your niece or nephew?"

"No." she choked out and stood up. "I can't."

He stood up as well. "Shad-"

"You can go. I just can't." she made a move to leave. She wanted to run, but she forced herself to walk. She heard the sound of footsteps and snapped, "I just want to be alone ok?" when he didn't say anything else, she rounded the corner and ran.

She hoped Midnight was out on a mission. She just wanted to be alone in her room. Her mind felt like chaos. She couldn't see the baby. She was so scared that she would see the eyes of the brother she turned her back on. The one that betrayed her and the one that she didn't grieve over when he died. She didn't care if this baby had her blood.

She didn't want to see it. 

* * *

Shadow heard a knock at her door and groaned inwardly. She tried to stay quiet in hope whoever it was would go away. She didn't feel like seeing or talking to anyone. She just wanted some time alone. But the knock came again.

"Shadow?" a familiar demonic voice called in. "Are you in there?"

She sighed and sat up in her bed. "What do you want?" she replied after a long hesitation.

"You were supposed to report back to me twenty minutes ago." Mazchna said impatiently.

"I got…distracted." Shadow told him half the truth.

He opened the door and walked inside to her utter annoyance. "Visiting your newborn kin I assume?" he inquired.

She stared at her legs. "Something among those lines."

"What's the matter?" the demon frowned. "You look troubled."

"It's nothing." She said quickly.

"Really?"

"Of course." She looked up to face him. Her face hardened and her eyes narrowed, challenging him to say any different. Just as she did as a thief.

He didn't fight her. Instead he glanced at the empty space beside her. "May I sit?"

"Don't you have slayer master duties to do?" she protested.

"You have second in command duties and yet here you are." He countered and sat down without her approval. "Now, are you going to tell me what is really bothering you or am I going to have to find out myself?" he lifted a clawed hand as he said this.

She batted it away, something she knew only she could get away with. "You need to stop doing that."

"Is this about your brother?"

Shadow stiffened. How could he know that? "What makes you say that?"

"You didn't shed one tear when he died. You didn't slack off in your duties. You acted as if you were…" he paused to look over at Midnight's bed and Shadow understood what he meant. "Now it must seem like he resurrected from the dead. I imagine you are having a difficult time."

"He betrayed me." She blurted out. "I was hurt and angry. Then when he was suddenly lying dead in front of me I couldn't bring myself to feel sad. I couldn't feel an ounce of grief for my own brother." Her voice was failing but she kept going. "Now I'll have to see his child every day. Whenever I see it, I'll see his face, his eyes. I'm…I'm afraid I'll look in them and see cold hatred." She shut her eyes and gripped the side of her bed.

The demon took a moment to let what she said sink in, and then he placed a red clawed hand on her shoulder. "I want to tell you something that I've failed to tell anyone else." He sighed. "I once had a brother as well."

Shadow opened her eyes and spun to look at him in shock. "You did?"

Mazchna nodded. "Do you know where demons like me come from?"

Shadow tried to remember the stories told by adventurers when she was a child. Did any of them mention demons that weren't mindless, bloodthirsty ones?

"We resided deep in the volcanic realms of Tzhaar. At least, that was how it once was until it was destroyed by lava overflowing. It was so deep in the volcano that humans could not enter; else they would burst into flames. But to my family and I, it was paradise." He didn't smile as he recalled this memory. His yellow eyes instead looked…haunted.

"What happened there?" Shadow asked softly.

"I will get to that. First I want to tell you about my brother." Shadow stayed quiet and listened to her mentor. "His name was Zakai. He was younger than I and very strange for a demon. He didn't believe in the things my family and I did. He believed in peace and love. I believed in war and strength. Despite our differences, I loved my brother dearly. I cannot say the same for my father. Do you know of any demonic traditions, Shadow?" he suddenly asked without looking at her.

She shook her head and he continued, "There is a tradition among demons. Once demons get to a certain age, they must prove their strength in some way. No matter how bloody or cruel. I was excited and prepared to face anything. Until I was face to face with my own younger brother."

Shadow swallowed the lump in her throat.

"He was tied and gagged. My father placed in my hand a blade. He told me to prove my worth; I must shed the blood of my own brother."

"Did you…kill him?" she asked quietly.

He paused and then hung his head, his green hood covering most of his face. "Yes. I was so consumed by power that I killed my own brother. I now must live that moment every day. Each night I go to sleep and I see the look on his face when the sword pierced his heart. I see the light leave his kind eyes and the single tear trickle down his cheek."

Shadow frowned. "I thought demons couldn't cry."

"They can't."

She looked at him in surprise. "So was he really a demon?"

"To this day, I still wonder if he was pureblood. He certainly looked demonic, but his beliefs and the love in his heart were unlike the demons in that land. But that is not my point." He looked her dead in the eye and she couldn't move.

"I would do ANYTHING to take back that moment. I would trade my own life if it meant having my brother back. So listen to me when I tell you that this is your second chance. If this child truly is a reflection of your brother then embrace it. Help raise it and spend as much time as you can with it. Say everything that you couldn't say before. Most of all…forgive."

Shadow broke the look and turned away just as a tear ran down her cheek.

She heard Mazchna stand up. "I should be leaving. I hope you will listen to my words." She heard his footsteps head to the door.

She made sure her voice was clear before saying, "Thank you."

He stopped for a moment and then opened the door. A second later she heard it close. She then grabbed a pillow and pressed her head against it. For the first time in a long time, Shadow sobbed. Not for a specific reason. She just shed the tears that had built up for so long.

* * *

Shadow walked with her hands wrapped around her frame. She couldn't look less like a slayer master right now if she tried. But she didn't care. At least she had enough sense to wipe her face as if nothing happened. No one would ever know of her breakdown. Still, it was foolish to let it happen in the first place. She didn't even want to think what would happen if Midnight would have walked in.

None of that mattered. What was done was done. Now she had a mission that she knew she must do. She had considered Mazchna's words very carefully. She was acting like an idiot. How could the child know of what she did? Of the last thing she said to its father before he was murdered? It was time to forget, forgive, and move on.

She didn't know exactly what it was that she wanted, but she would at least go to see the baby. After that she would decide from there.

She had almost reached Ramankila's den when she just about bumped into Cloud. He looked relieved to see her.

"There you are!" he smiled, but she could clearly see the worry on his face. "You ok?"

"I'm fine now." She managed to smile back. "Just needed to think. Have you seen it?" she changed the subject.

"The baby? Of course. Are you going to see it now?" he inquired.

"Yeah…will you come with me?" she asked automatically. Only after hearing her own words did she realize how much better she would feel if he did.

He nodded and grinned wider. "It's not going to bite you know."

She frowned as she started walking again. "What?"

"You're scared of kids." He shrugged. "I just kind of assumed."

She continued looking straight ahead. "Yeah I guess you can put it that way."

"Do you want to hear about it?"

"No. I want to see it for myself."

They walked in silence the rest of the way until they stood in front of the door. He opened it for her and gestured for her to go inside. She swallowed and did as suggested, her legs feeling like lead.

Inside there was a small bed that wasn't there before. On that bed was Mallory. Her hair was messed up and she looked exhausted, but her eyes glittered with warmth she had never seen before. She looked down at her lap where a bundle wrapped in a white blanket sat. Shadow couldn't see inside it from where she stood.

"I was wondering when you would show up." Mallory said to her. Even her voice was stripped from anger and bitterness. It took Shadow by surprise. When she didn't move, Mallory continued with, "Don't just stand there miss fearless thief, come meet your family."

Cloud shut the door and nudged her closer to the bed. Mallory waited until she was standing over her to unwrap the blanket pressed against her chest. Shadow peered over, not even daring to breathe.

"Meet your new nephew."

Shadow felt her heart beat hard against her ribcage. Inside the blanket was a baby with hair as black as night. Its face was all too familiar. Everything about it reminded her so much of her brother, just as she feared. But she wasn't afraid or angry.

His eyes opened and her bottom lip quivered. They were nearly the exact same color as Ronaldo's apart from a few flecks of green in the center. He looked at her in wonder, as if studying her face for future reference.

"Did…did you name him yet?" she asked.

She nodded slowly. "His name is Rory."

"Rory," she repeated the name in a breath.

She was so focused on the tiny human being in front of her that she didn't even notice Cloud come up beside her until he said, "Isn't he great?"

She turned to look at him. His eyes were filled with such tenderness that anyone would think the child was his own. She suddenly recalled Princess. In more ways than one, Rory must remind him of the baby sister he had lost.

"Do you want to hold him?" Mallory asked her.

Shadow immediately jumped back at least two feet from where she stood. "No." she said quickly. Then she composed herself and cleared her throat. "I mean, not today."

Cloud shrugged. "Suit yourself. I will if you won't." he held out his arms and Mallory placed the precious cargo into his hands. He held the baby like a professional and smiled at it. Shadow had to admit she was impressed.

More than that, she was annoyed at herself for being three feet away from Rory while Cloud, who was once the leader of a gang of thieves, held him without giving a damn what anyone thought. He even whispered something to the baby and caused it to giggle.

She pushed away her pride and stepped forward. She slowly reached out a hand as if she was about to pet a dog. She flinched when he suddenly grabbed her finger with his tiny hand and blinked up at her.

Cloud grinned wide. "I think he likes you."

She wasn't paying attention. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. Granted she still felt uncomfortable, she felt she could overcome it. She could overcome anything. What was more, this was her blood. And this tiny baby boy was the exact copy of the brother she used to love. The brother she DID love.

It only took the wise words of a demon to make her realize this. She would grow to love this baby…for Ronaldo. If was the least she could do for him.

"Hi Rory." She whispered as the baby's eyes drooped shut. "Welcome to Runescape." 

* * *

~To be continued~ 

* * *

**My first fairly short chapter in a long time. At least I got it posted in a timely matter so you won't have too much to complain about.**

**A few little notes:**

**'Zakai' means innocent or pure in Hebrew.**

**I know that Mazchna is an NPC and has his own story but as you figured out by now this is my own version of him. This isn't to say that I claim any ownership of him. I'm just changing his background to fit the story.**

**Hope you enjoyed and review!**


	24. The Missing Piece

Chapter 24 

* * *

The Missing Piece 

* * *

Shadow pressed herself against the wall of Mazchna's office. She stared directly at the demon and nodded on occasion to pretend she was listening to what he was saying. But really she didn't want to hear what her mentor had to say. It was always the same song and dance. The same reports on the slayers of the guild, same monsters, same dull problems.

She thought she would be happy now that she was second in command of the slayer guild, given the respect she always wanted, and had Cloud. So why did she still feel like something was missing? She felt anxious all the time and her duties were paying the price for it. She guessed that Cloud knew she was pushing him away again. But this time was different. She wasn't trying on purpose.

Shadow just felt like there was something she had to do. Some unknown calling she wasn't answering. Why couldn't she ever just be content? Anyone would kill to be in her shoes. But was this what she really wanted? To be a slayer master and stay in a crummy old office, giving out orders to other slayers until the day she died?

She couldn't help but breathe out a sigh. This WAS what she wanted, wasn't it?

Mazchna must have noticed the sigh because he stopped midsentence and snapped, "Shadow? Are you even listening to me?"

She blinked at him and automatically replied, "Of course!"

"What did I just say?"

"…Something about monsters in the Slayer Tower?" she offered lamely.

The green hooded demon hung his head and wiped a clawed hand over his face. "Your short attention span is getting on my last nerve."

"You're a demon. That's not exactly difficult." She pointed out. A glare from his light yellow eyes made her shut her mouth.

"I'm being serious-"

"You? Serious? And here I thought you were the funniest demon in the land-"

"Shadow!"

"Fine." She stared at her feet grumpily.

His hard tone softened and his yellow eyes lost some of their glow. "Why don't you cut the act and tell me what is bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me. I've never been better." She shrugged, hoping she looked convincing. "I'm just a little tired."

"Is it Rory?"

"What about Rory?"

"It's been a month since you shared your fears with me. I know you've been visiting him regularly. Have there been any more problems with him?"

"Everything's fine." She insisted. "I'm still a little awkward around him but it's nothing I can't handle. He even knows my name already." She added. A hint of pride dared to show in her tone.

"Your mind has been on anything but your duties lately. Even at the death of your brother you still stayed on top. You didn't waver once. There MUST be something bothering you." Shadow couldn't tell whether he was concerned or just really annoyed. Maybe a mix of both.

"I'm just tired." She repeated. Her eyes blazed a warning just as they did when she was a thief. Evidently it still worked because even her mentor didn't challenge her any further.

The demon huffed and rubbed a claw over his red face. "Very well. Then perhaps you need a break. Get some supper and then rest. But if there really is no specific reason for you to be shirking from your duties I expect you to be back to your usual self after you've slept."

Shadow could only give a tense nod. She didn't want to give him any promises, but she didn't want to give him more reason to think something was troubling her either. Truthfully, she felt rested enough. She just couldn't figure out why she was so distracted. Taking this as a dismissal, she turned and opened the door to leave.

"Shadow?" Mazchna stopped her, "I hope the pressure isn't getting to you already. I'm not sure how many years I have left before I pass the guild on to you. If you're cracking now you certainly won't be able to hold the responsibility of slayer master."

Shadow grit her teeth to keep from snapping back at him. She wanted to remind him how she was once a skilled thief and could handle anything, but it was best if she held her tongue. Just this once. She instead forced herself to nod again and exited through the door.

As she weaved through the tunnels leading to the food hall, her thoughts drifted away again. Same old dirt tunnels, same paths, same guild. She remembered her first time in the guild. She had been so fascinated when Mazchna opened the hidden door, revealing the seemingly countless different ways to go. Everything was so new and exciting. Now it just seemed ordinary.

She had almost bumped into the wide doors in front of her before she came back to reality. She didn't move to open the doors. Somehow she wasn't yet ready to see the other members of the guild with their happy faces…or what they consider to be the closest thing to a happy expression.

What was wrong with her? And why had it come out of nowhere? She thought the empty feeling in her chest would finally be filled now that she had Cloud. She thought everything would be perfect. She had friends, was well respected as something that was actually legal, was at last free of guards, had a nephew she was still learning to love, and Cloud. What else did she need?

The ache didn't go away and she didn't have any explanation. She sighed, opened the doors in front of her, and strode into the food hall. Everything was exactly as it always was. Same slayers having the same conversations, eating the same food. Some of them looked up and nodded at her with respect, though she didn't really take any notice. What feels like a long time ago she would have held back a shriek of delight every time even one of them acknowledged her presence. Now it was just routine.

When she reached the food counter, she was surprised to find that the usual yellow-headed, bad tempered boy was not there. In his place stood a much kinder substitute; a girl that Shadow had got to know well when she was sent to work in the kitchen.

"Hi, Kayla," Shadow greeted her with a friendly grin, "Where's Tetsu?"

"Hi Shadow." The girl answered with equal friendliness. "I had a stack of dishes to wash and he offered to do them for me if I worked out here. He's so sweet." Her green eyes glowed and Shadow raised an eyebrow.

Tetsu? Sweet? He had as much sweetness in him as a lemon. At least that was true for everyone EXCEPT the short girl he worked beside daily. Shadow knew the proud eye patch wearing boy would never admit it, but he basically threw away all of his slayer duties to work in the kitchen. Just for Kayla.

Shadow held back a wide grin. It wasn't much of a surprise that he had fallen for her. The girl was at least three inches shorter than her, had shoulder length light brown hair, dark green eyes, pink cheeks, and a smile that could captivate any male's heart; no matter what race.

She decided to take the opportunity to have a little fun, like she always did with Tetsu. "So you and Tetsu are becoming pretty close, huh?" she asked innocently.

Kayla stared at her hands on the counter. "I guess so. He gets in a lot trouble with Mazchna." She added with a giggle, "It's almost like he does it on purpose."

Shadow searched her eyes, but they gave no indication of sudden realization. Not one gleam that showed that she knew anything. How dense could you get? She ignored the nagging in the back of her head telling her she and Cloud weren't much better.

"You know, sometimes I think he has a soft spot for you. It always seems like he's nicer to you than anyone else." Shadow pressed.

Kayla started fiddling with her hair. "Really? I haven't noticed. What can I get you?" This time she couldn't resist smiling at the girl's eagerness to change the subject. Maybe she did know more than she let on.

She decided to let the poor girl go. "Uh…" she frowned as her eyes scanned over the food. With all the humans in the guild they had plenty more edible choices. But it was still all the same. The same things she ate every day. Was she just being picky? Either way she wasn't that hungry anymore.

"You know, I think I'll just go talk to my friends." Shadow said. Kayla looked confused but she didn't say anything. Instead she pointed to a table close to a corner in the room. Shadow nodded her thanks and scooted around chairs to reach them. She was pleased to see everyone was there. Midnight, the purple twins, Kola, and Cloud sat around. Each looked happy and content as they ate their food and exchanged slaying stories.

Was she really the only one that felt like she was being suffocated?

As usual, Cloud was the first one to notice her approach. His sparkling blue eyes always somehow made the fog that was following her around lift up slightly. But only slightly. Still, the way he waved his hand wildly over the empty chair next to him like a little kid was an amusing sight.

She accepted his invitation and nodded politely at her friends. "Hi guys. What's-"

"HI SHADOW!" a happy shriek from April interrupted her, causing the rest of the table to hold their heads with a groan.

"She's had about four sticky buns in under a half hour." Argon explained with a glare at his sister. "She's even more annoying than usual."

April didn't seem bothered by any of them. She was too busy starting in on her fifth sticky bun, which Argon snatched out of her hand and promptly threw it across the room. His sister could only look at him with a childish pout.

"Ok then," Shadow clicked her tongue. "Besides April's sugar high, what else is new?"

All five of them immediately starting talking over each other and Shadow quickly lost interest. From what she could catch it was the same things she heard every day. Nothing new happened, it was all typical. She tried her best to pretend she was listening whenever someone spoke directly to her, but she was failing miserably.

"You ok?" she made herself pay attention when Midnight asked her a legitimate question.

"What?" she blinked, realizing her head was in her hands. She was clearly spacing out. She sat up straight and answered, "I'm fine. Gods, why does everyone keep asking me that?" she had meant that as a light joke but it came out as irritated.

"You've been kind of out of it lately." Midnight pointed out.

"You've been acting like ssslaying is a chore when I go out with you." Kola added.

"You never join in any of our conversations anymore." April piped up, her eyes not making contact with her own.

"You sigh all the freaking time." Even Argon joined in with his grumpy tone.

"And you haven't been eating much." Cloud was the only one that sounded really concerned. "What's going on with you? Are you sick?"

"I'm FINE." Shadow finally let her temper get the better of her. She pushed up from the table and glared at her friends. "Everybody needs to stop treating me like a fragile kitten or I swear I'll personally feed you all to the Ghasts."

Her loud exclamation made a few tables close to theirs look over. Their faces reflected the looks on her friend's; except for Midnight who always had the same bored expression.

Anger still bubbling in her throat, she threw her chair aside and charged across the room to the doors. She could feel the stares of her fellow slayers following her, but she really didn't care. Let them stare. She was tired of all of it.

She had gotten halfway to her room when the sound of running footsteps echoed behind her. She resisted the urge to turn around and punch them in the face when they rounded the corner. Mostly because she knew who it was before she heard his voice say, "Shadow. Shadow, stop."

"Not in the mood right now, Cloud." She snapped at him. She felt his touch on her shoulder and automatically threw it off. "I said I didn't want to talk!" her voice rose as she turned to face him.

His face was hardened, almost like how it was when he used to address Blake only not nearly as angry or filled with hate. "How am I supposed to help you if you won't tell me what's wrong? Is it something I did? Did someone say something to you? You have to-"

"I DON'T KNOW!" her voice was becoming dangerously close to the breaking point and she took a moment to swallow and calm herself down. Cloud waited patiently for her to speak again.

"I honestly don't know." Shadow repeated more quietly. "I've just been feeling like I'm living the same day over and over. Nothing ever changes. And it probably never will. Especially after I become slayer master."

"So you feel trapped? Or bored?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm going through a midlife crisis?"

Cloud laughed. "You're too young for that." He paused for a moment and then continued. "Tell you what. Why don't we sneak out tonight? Just the two of us."

"And do what?"

"Anything that you want." He edged forward and pulled her close to him. She felt rigid, but didn't try to resist. "We could get away from all this. Just for one night."

"And then come back?" Shadow muttered from her place against his chest.

He seemed to miss the disappointment in her tone because he replied happily, "Of course! They'll never know we were gone."

She roughly pushed him away and stepped back. "I think I'll just go to bed. Maybe some other time, ok?" she turned and marched away before he could reply. She tried to pretend that she didn't see the hurt in his eyes.

This was her battle. She had to fight this alone. She would go to bed and tomorrow everything would be back to the way it was before.

* * *

Shadow blinked open her eyes with a start. The material beneath her didn't feel like the sheets she had fallen asleep on. She lifted up her hand and was shocked to see sand falling between her fingers. She sat up and looked around.

She was on a beach. A few trees swayed in the wind behind her. Behind them was a large hill that overlooked the vast ocean beside her. Where was she? And how did she get here?

She stood up and examined her body. There were no scratches or bruises. Her hands and feet weren't tied and she certainly wasn't gagged. No evidence showed that she was kidnapped. What person in their right mind would go to the Canifis Slayer Guild just to steal her anyway?

Suddenly it occurred to her. Was she dreaming? But everything seemed so real. She pinched her arm just to be sure. She felt no pain and breathed out a sigh. But if this was a dream, how was she able to tell that it was without waking up straight away? Everything was so weird.

"Greetings, young Shadow."

Shadow's heart jumped in her throat and she turned around with a stomp of her foot. "What the hell are you doing sneaking up on me like that?" she snapped. She was more irked off at herself for letting it happen. She was usually so alert that she could hear anyone coming from a mile away.

The man in front of her was at least a foot taller than she. He was dressed in a dark blue robe with a pointy hat to match and had a long white beard. She felt like she should recognize him from somewhere, but couldn't place him.

"Forgive me, young one." He dipped his head apologetically. "I thought a skilled thief like you wouldn't be so easily startled." He added with a twinkle in his eye.

"I wasn't." she growled defensively. "How do you know my name anyway? Or anything about me?"

"Oh I know all about you. I know your past, your present, and more importantly your future."

Shadow's frown didn't leave her face. "My future? What the hell are you, some kind of wizard?"

"Funny you would use that word in particular." The crazy bearded man chuckled.

"What do you want?" the way he was acting caused her to relax a bit. He didn't SEEM threatening. Besides, this was just a dream right? She couldn't really get hurt even if he did attack her.

"I just want to talk."

They stood there for a few minutes in silence. Shadow could feel him taking in every bit of her, every curve and muscle in her body. She couldn't say it made her uncomfortable, just ticked off.

"Well?" she asked rudely after he didn't say anything else.

"You're a special girl, did you know that?" his voice was careful, like he was holding something big back. Shadow felt intrigued now.

She shifted the weight on her legs. "I'm the future slayer master of a guild that initially didn't even allow humans inside. So yeah I guess that does make me pretty special."

"Oh, young one. Your destiny reaches much further than that."

She completely dropped her guard now and leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"You're meant for greater things. Shadow, you have been chosen since birth to complete a certain task." His wise voice captivated her, made her believe in every word he was saying and gave her a thirst to know more. "This task will not only make you a hero for the rest of your life. It will do so much more."

Shadow's green eyes shone in the light of the sun. A hero? She would be a hero? HER? "Tell me more." She all but begged. "What's the task?"

"My dear," the man moved closer, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "You are going to save millions of lives."

"How?"

"By defeating an evil that is threatening the world that you know and love."

Her excitement depleted. What was wrong with her? This was just a dream. Why would someone like her get chosen to save the world?

"You don't believe me, do you?" the man looked disappointed.

"No." she answered. "None of it makes any sense. How could someone like me save Runescape? I'm just one person! Not to mention that this is just a dream anyway. When I wake up I won't remember any of it."

"Oh but you will." The man insisted. "This is more than just a dream, dear one. There is a prophecy that has been foretold long before you were even in your mother's womb. But there is a piece missing. Little one, YOU are that piece."

"Don't call me 'little one'." She said on instinct. "How am I in a prophecy? I'm just an ex-thief training to be a slayer master!"

"No. You're a skilled girl who's story is about to be told for generations to come. You are not meant to be a mere slayer master."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"You must leave behind everything that you know."

Shadow felt her blood run cold. "LEAVE? Leave my guild, my friends…?

Leave Cloud?

"Everything." He repeated gently. "But fear not. You're not meant to fulfill this prophecy alone. There are three people looking for you, waiting for you."

"Waiting for ME?"

"Yes. You must look for them as soon as possible to band together and defeat the evil that is growing. This is your destiny."

"You're not being very specific." Shadow started backing away. "You're basically telling me to find a bunch of strangers and go kill something. I don't even know your name!"

The man seemingly stretched up even higher, if that was possible. "I am the wizard, Merlin. Hear these words handed down from a prophecy that is centuries old and take them to heart. "_There will be Four: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Only these four elements can save Runescape. But beware, darkness still lurks inside your hearts._"

"What does that even mean?" Shadow's voice was rising and not out of anger.

Merlin moved forward until he was right over her. He swept a wrinkly old hand over her cheek and it calmed her a bit. "Do not be afraid, Shadow. There is a reason why the gods have chosen you to be the Fourth element in the prophecy. You have a strong heart and you will not give up until you have won. Just remember you are not alone. The Three are waiting for you and will help you."

As he said those last words, Shadow could suddenly see right through him. His body was fading.

"Wait!" she clutched desperately at his disappearing sleeve. "How do I find them? What's the darkness that lurks in my heart?"

"Believe in yourself, Shadow. Never lose sight of who you are."

Then he was gone. 

* * *

"WAIT-ah!"

Shadow had woken with a cry and was now flat on her back. She blinked the sleep from her eyes, rubbing her head as she tried to collect what happened. She had fallen out of bed, she knew that much. But what about before that?

"Gods, Shadow!" she turned to face the annoyed voice of her best friend. Midnight was on her bed, her book in her lap and her legs crossed. Shadow realized with a twinge that she must have interrupted her during her meditating. "You nearly made me lose my concentration. I could've turned into the beast and destroyed this whole place!"

"Sorry, Mid-wait. What did you say?"

"I could've destroyed the guild?" Midnight frowned at her. "What's with you? First you wake up screaming like a banshee and now you can't hear."

Destroyed…Runescape was going to be destroyed! Shadow's dream came back to her in a rush. She remembered every bit of it. Merlin the wizard, the prophecy, the Three waiting for her, the command to leave as soon as possible.

She had to go. She had to pack up and say goodbye to her guild. Now that the initial shock was over, she was excited! She could finally be an adventurer like she always wanted to be. Was that what she felt was missing? And not only an adventurer, but a hero! They would write songs about her.

"MIDNIGHT! I need to talk to you." Shadow scrambled into standing and ran over until she was standing right over the pissed off Soulless.

Midnight sighed loudly and closed her book. "That's ok; I didn't really need to use the spell that would keep me from turning today. I'm sure everything will be fine." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Midnight, I have to go." Shadow blurted out. Her mind was reeling out of control. There were so many things that needed to be done. What should she pack? It depended how long she was going to travel. Where should she go first? She knew a lot of the land in Runecape but there was still plenty more she didn't know. She would have to get a map.

"Go where?" Midnight asked. "You just got up."

Shadow paused to take a deep breath. "I have to leave the guild. I had a dream-"

"Hold on. You're getting worked up over a dream?"

"It wasn't just a dream!" she insisted. "It was a message. Mid, I'm part of a centuries old prophecy. I'm supposed to find three other people and join with them to defeat an evil that's threatening Runescape."

"You do realize how crazy you sound right now, right?"

"I know it sounds insane. But it felt so real. I have to at least know if it's true or not. I'm leaving. Today." She hoped that her friend could hear the certainty in her voice. This was what she needed to do. She was sure this would fill the empty feeling in her chest.

Midnight searched her face. Her black eyes not even blinking. Finally she hung her head, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "You're talking about leaving something you pledged your life to. Something that you've worked hard for. Mazchna will have to choose a new second in command. And what about your friends? Not to mention-"

"Midnight." Her voice turned deadly serious. She crouched down so that she was eye level with the Soulless. "I have to do this. Say that the dream was just a dream. What have I got to lose?" she stopped before admitting something she had been fighting to not admit to even herself for a while now. "I'm not happy here."

"Why?" Midnight asked her. "You've got everything that you've ever wanted."

Shadow shook her head. "No, I don't. Ever since I was a child I've wanted to be an adventurer. That dream was smashed into the dirt after…" she noted Midnight clenching her fists and decided to leave that part unsaid. "But this is my chance. I want to explore the rest of this land. And I can do that now that my name has been cleared." Her eyes shone just from the thought of it. "This is what I WANT. You understand, don't you?"

The friend she had grown so close to nodded. Her expression remained unreadable, but that was typical. She reached out her pale hand so that it rested on top of Shadow's.

"If it makes you happy, then do it." She murmured. Shadow couldn't begin to put into words how grateful she was for the Soulless, but she guessed she didn't have to. Not yet anyway. There was still one more thing she needed to do before she could start packing.

"I need to tell Mazchna now." She stood up. "Will you come with me?"

"What for?"

"So I'll have a witness if he kills me." Shadow joked. She waited for Midnight to pull on her dark cloak and the two friends walked side by side to Mazchna's office. The tunnels seemed longer than usual. Probably because she had no idea what she was going to say. Would Mazchna understand? Would he even let her go? She looked down at her palm. The mark of the skull with the sword thrust through it still looked fresh. And it wasn't like it was painted in. It was burned into her flesh.

Nevertheless, the door was in front of them and she knocked on it. After a confirmation from Mazchna, she opened the door and Midnight and she walked in. Her mentor looked slightly surprised seeing the Soulless with her.

"Can I help you two?" the demon asked.

Shadow held her head up. "Mazchna, I'm very sorry but I have to give up my role as your second in command. Something happened last night that opened my eyes. I'm not happy here. This isn't what I was meant to do with my life. I'm very grateful for everything that you have done for me, but I have to leave the guild." Satisfied with saying what she needed to do, she could now only wait for his reaction.

His face had stayed the same the entire time. After a while he stood up from his chair and looked into her bright green eyes. "Are you positive this is what you want?"

She nodded at once. "I'm surer than I've ever been of anything."

He bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I understand. I couldn't have asked for a better second in command. I would've been proud to hand over this guild to you one day. But alas, it appears your heart is leading you elsewhere." He looked up at her again. "I will miss you."

Shadow was stunned for a moment. Hearing those words from a demon was very rare. She smiled warmly at him. He was a giant pain most of the time, but she had grown very fond of her mentor. He had become almost like a father to her.

"There's still the matter of finding you a replacement." Mazchna reminded her.

"About that," Shadow turned to Midnight. "If I could, I would like Midnight to become the next second in command. I couldn't think of anyone else more capable for this job and I trust her with every fiber of my being."

The Soulless stared at her, but Shadow was sure if she could show more emotion she would look completely shocked. "I…" her theory proved to be right, as she was at a loss of words.

Mazchna's gaze switched back and forth between the two. "Normally it is not up to the former second in command to choose the next, but in this case I would have to agree with you. Midnight," he walked over to the girl; "would you accept the position of being my second in command in which after I am gone you will take over this guild and lead it wisely?"

He used the same words he had said to Shadow. She felt her heart swell with pride and nostalgia. But there was no doubt that this was what she wanted.

"I...yes, I would." Midnight was apparently still a bit shaken up from the news but she answered at once.

"Then Shadow and Midnight, step forward."

Shadow felt confused. Why did she need to step forward? She did as she was told.

"Place the palm with the mark on it against Midnight's." he told her.

She fought back a gulp. She had a feeling this wasn't exactly going to tickle. Midnight lifted up her hand and she pressed her own against it. They flinched at the same time. Shadow figured she was feeling the same burning sensation in her hand as she was. The process lasted for only a few seconds. When it was over, Shadow looked at her hand. The mark was gone and was now burned into Midnight's hand.

This was really happening.

She had done what she needed to do. It was time to prepare.

"Thank you Mazchna." She said a quick goodbye and ran out the door.

She hadn't gotten very far when she felt a hand clamp onto her shoulder. She turned to see Midnight had followed her. She felt her eyes turning to liquid. She was hoping to avoid this. She hadn't said anything yet and her throat was burning. How could she do this with all of her friends?

Having trouble finding words, she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Midnight. Her best friend didn't hesitate in returning the gesture.

"Thank you for being such a good friend." Shadow said after she could speak again. "I promise I'll visit when I can. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you as well." Midnight replied. Shadow knew her deadpan voice was only covering up the sadness she really felt, but it helped with the situation. She hated seeing other people cry.

When they pulled apart, Midnight said, "I do have one request before you have to go."

"Name it."

"I know there's close to no chance that she's still alive. But if you could, would you keep an eye out for my little sister? There's still a part of me that believes she still lives. If I can, I have to know for sure. Will you do that for me?"

Shadow nodded, though privately she had her doubts. But she could at least have one ear open for her friend's sister. She owed her that much. "What's her name?"

"Jawwie. It's an unusual name so it should be of some help."

Shadow smiled. "Yeah, it'd be pretty hard to forget that. If I find her I'll tell her where you are and that you're looking for her. I promise."

"Thank you. And Shadow?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful…and don't do anything stupid."

Shadow laughed, calling back, "No promises!" as she ran back to her room for the last time.

* * *

Shadow flung her backpack onto her shoulder. She looked up at the ladder. She knew she had to get going as soon as she could, but she just needed to take a moment to stop and think. This would be the last time she climbed this ladder. The last time she would be in this guild. At least for a long time.

She took a deep breath. The smell of swamp water and decaying bodies seeped through. She was used to the smell by now, but it'll be amazing to taste the scent of clean air again. Not able to wait for another second, she gripped the sides of the ladder and started climbing up.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She froze mid step. She debated flinging herself the rest of the way up. She didn't want to deal with this. She didn't think she could. Oh gods why couldn't he have let her go? Or why couldn't Midnight or Mazchna have waited for her to get far enough away before telling him?

"Did you really think I would just let you leave?" His tone was angry, but Shadow wasn't fooled. He was hurt. She felt as if someone had grabbed her heart and was squeezing it right now. Without turning, she let go of the ladder, landing skillfully on her feet.

She couldn't look at him. She was sure that as soon as she did she would run into his arms and he would convince her to stay. She had to do this. There was no turning back. And no pair of bright blue eyes was going to stop her.

"Midnight told me why you're leaving." He softened. "I'm not here to stop you."

Shadow sighed with relief and tried to talk, "I-"

"I want to come with you."

She pressed her head against the dirt wall. Her hair had completely fallen over her face. At this moment, she had never felt LESS like a skilled thief in her life. Her lip was quivering so much it hurt. She wished he would just go away.

"You can't." she nearly choked on the words. "I have to do this alone."

"Why? I joined this guild for YOU. I'll follow wherever you go. You know that."

"I know." She clenched her hand into a fist and pounded it into the wall. She was fighting back tears. She knew this now. This was a test to be strong. If she was going to save her land, then she needed to be able to say a simple goodbye to Cloud without bursting into tears.

"Shadow, look at me. Please look at me." She could hear the own tears in his voice. It made her feel all the worse. Even the old leader of her rival gang was close to crying…over HER.

"The prophecy said there are FOUR people. There are three people waiting for me and I'm the Fourth. As much as I want you to come with me, you have to stay here. Watch over Rory for me, ok? Make sure he knows who I am and that I'm thinking of him." She tried to grab the ladder but he suddenly grabbed her outstretched arm and forced her to look at him.

"I can't lose you again." He swallowed, his face just inches from hers. She could now see the redness on his face. His blue eyes were glassy and the hold he had on her arm was like a vice grip.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I'll be back, I promise. But I have to do this alone. This will make me happy."

"I thought I made you happy?"

She pressed her hand to his cheek. "You DO make me happy. But this is how it has to be. When I come back I know you'll make me proud. You mean so much to me, Cloud."

Cloud held her as close as he could. His body was shaking, or maybe that was hers. None of it mattered when she heard the next words that escaped from his lips.

"I love you."

She couldn't be strong anymore. The tears rolled down her cheeks and she didn't look away, though she desperately wanted to. This was a huge rule that Blake taught her that she was breaking. A thief never cries, especially not in front of anyone.

She wiped her arms over her face. She knew that she should say it back. But her mouth felt dry. She realized she had never really said it and meant it. The voice in her head was screaming at her to say it, that this might be her last chance. She opened her mouth to attempt to fight out the words.

"It's ok." Cloud stopped her. "You don't have to say it back if you don't want to yet."

She stared at him. "I DO want to say it. But…I can't. Someday I will. I just have to fight my demons first."

"And this is your way of doing that?"

She nodded solemnly.

His mouth cracked into an uneasy smile, the smile she had grown to love. "Then do what you have to do. They'll run screaming to the hills when they see you coming. And for the record, I'm proud of you. I'll wait for you. As long as it takes."

She pressed her lips against his cheek without considering it. Then she stepped back, taking in his appearance one last time.

"Goodbye, Cloud."

She started up the ladder again, feeling the intensity of his gaze on her the whole way up.

Just before she reached the top, she heard him call out, "Shadow!"

She looked back down. "Yeah?"

He grinned wide. "Just because you're not a thief anymore doesn't mean you can't use your skills. Show them what a former thieving slayer can really do. Give 'em hell for me!"

* * *

"Give me a beer." Shadow grunted, throwing her backpack onto the stool next to her. The first place she went to is Varrock where she purchased a map from a merchant. Now she had it spread out in front of her on the bar counter in the Blue Moon Inn.

Her eyes widened. She knew Runescape was big, but she didn't really consider HOW big until just know. There were so many places to explore. The Three could be anywhere! She had no idea where to begin. She wished that damn wizard would have given her a more specific location. It'll take forever to find these people. How much time did they have anyway? Was the evil not here yet? What WAS the evil anyway?

A couple of people came in and sat on the stools next to her. She prayed to the gods that they weren't drunken old men looking for a good time. She was in no mood to deal with them right now. She relaxed when she heard one of them speak, a female.

"Why the hell did we go in here? We should be out training!" said a rough female voice.

"It's a bar, we're here to drink. That's how bars work." A male voice replied to her in a childish manner. "Sounds like you can use one."

"You know I don't get drunk anymore." Another female voice. This one had a more commanding tone.

"I didn't say we were getting drunk. I said we're getting drinks. Three beers this way, my good man!"

Shadow resisted the urge to cover her ears with her hands. In hindsight, going to a bar and thinking it would be quiet enough to concentrate wasn't her best idea. It didn't matter. She would just pick a location, drink her beer, and leave.

"With how much you've been drinking lately anyone would think you're an old drunk."

"What's wrong with having a little fun? It's not like we can do anything right now. The old geezer told us to play the waiting game."

"So that automatically means we can drink ourselves to our graves? War, that logic is idiotic even for you."

"Excuse me Miss High and Mighty Aklase, but some of us can actually hold our liquor without pushing someone off a cliff."

"Ok look, we're all just tired and irritated. Once-"

"SOME of us more so than others." The male apparently called 'War' pointed out loudly.

"…as I was saying. Once we find the Fourth everyone will feel better."

The Fourth? Shadow's head shot up. She looked over at the people sitting a few stools down from her. They were two girls and a guy, just as she thought.

The Three?

The guy had ruffled blonde hair and brown eyes. He was a high level and the muscles in his arms showed it. The one girl had tan skin, darker brown eyes, and a dark blue outfit consisting of shorts and a tank top. She also had a brown woodcutting cape with the hood covering most of her face. The other girl had fiery red hair, ocean blue eyes, a burgundy tank top, dragon leggings, and a black cavalier.

"You're like a broken record, Jawwie!" War snapped at the girl in blue. "You're always singing the same tune. All you ever think about is the prophecy or the Fourth or finding the elements. You need to learn to RELAX. Anyway, I hope the Fourth is a better drinking buddy than you people."

Shadow's heart was thudding against her chest. Did he just say Jawwie? She turned so that she could get a better look under the girl's hood. She suddenly realized in a lot of ways the young girl bore a striking resemblance to her friend, even if she wasn't a Soulless.

The three friends started talking at once. Shadow could barely contain her excitement. She had found the Three!

She stood up from her stool. "HEY!" she yelled.

Their heads turned to her at once, each with the same confused glare.

She smiled her thief smirk. Her dream was right. There were three people waiting for her and she had found them. Now it was up to her to make them see she was tough enough to handle the task they had been given.

"I'm Shadow…and I think you three are looking for me." 

* * *

~End~ 

* * *

**The end? I'm afraid so. At least, for this story.**

**I want to thank each and every one of you for reading! This has been an amazing experience and I'm so grateful to all of you for sharing it with me and giving me so much confidence. I've become a better writer in writing this story and I have you guys to thank for that for giving me the push I need to keep going.**

**But this doesn't have to end. I'm giving you guys a choice. You can either stop reading completely, or if you really enjoyed this and you don't want to say goodbye to Shadow and the rest of the gang just yet, go to my other story "The Four - Alaska's Destiny Sequel". There you will find 12 chapters already written so you can catch up with what's going on here. I will post the next chapter where Shadow is introduced as soon as I can. It won't be as well written or full of plot as this one, but hopefully that will change now that I've had more experience. What I'm saying is this is far from over. This was just a background story of a new character that's going to be introduced in my other story.**

**For those of you that are going to keep following my work, see you in the other story! And for those of you that are done here, thank you so much for reading!**


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